Armored Core: Lunar Battle
by demonslayer206
Summary: When a new corporation wages war against a planet, expect Ravens to fight them to the last man. With the fight now at Lunar, can the Earth's elite and a motley team of Mars ravens with 20 year old ACs stand up? currently on hold
1. Prologue

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Prologue

Part one: Suprise Attacks

Several space ships began to depart from Raven's Nest Mars, complete with orders. The small fleet didn't seem to be a threat, but each one is capable of carrying up to five of the most powerful machines mankind had ever created, the Armored Cores. Each machine was unique, for every Raven has a different style of fighting and have varying amounts of cash. In the case of this team, however, all of them are top rankers and have the best equipment offered to them. If they went to earth, their machines wouldn't match up with the earth Ravens. That's because their machine parts are well over twenty years old based on when the parts were actually developed. All of the Mars AC's actually posessed the old prototype overboost thrusters, which was their only edge, compared to the new EO type cores available on earth.

The ships were heading to the new colony on the moon called Lunar, where the Raven's missions were about to take place. A new corporation that had settled on Lunar, called Neo- Core, had sent the new MT designs to Mars and badly damaged all of the factories on the planet with that strike force. This was essentially vengence for messing with Mars. Lunar doesn't even have it's own Raven's Nest yet, so Neo-Core can only defend itself using the newest MTs created on earth. That is provided they haven't gotten an earth Raven over to the moon as a precaution.

Inside the fifth carrier ship, one of the Ravens was checking an AC for possible errors and to figure out what back weapons to equip it with. The AC in question was a middle-weight machine, many of its framing parts and weapons belonging to Zeo-Matrix. Unlike most of the ACs in the hanger, this one was relatively new. Zeo-Matrix was given an order for all of the essential parts and two of the weapons almost two years ago, whereas the other Cores have been around for quite some time. Many Ravens were often granted the use of the ACs their parents once used when they, too, were Ravens. But this Raven didn't, for the origional was destroyed with the pilot inside. This Core was designed to commemorate the origional and fight on.

The Raven in question was busy making sure everything was in tip-top shape, sitting in the cockpit as the unit went through its diagnostics. "Let's see," the Raven muttered, "EGRET head and cameras are green. 202/TEM arms, condition green. XA/2 core, functional. XAI/FA legs." The pilot made the unit move its feet slightly for the test, so that the leg's functions could be confirmed. "Good shape. GEX 3000 boosters check out." The Raven scanned a screen. "Generator and Radiator efficiency is at peak. Weapons..." The Raven paused for a second, thinking. "Xeo-Streak, scan all weapon systems."

SCANNING...

ZEX-RS/Hound Missile intercept system fully loaded and on standby.

EWM-S602 missile system fully loaded and on standby.

ZWR-S/60 rocket system fully loaded and on standby.

KARASAWA-MK2 laser rifle fully charged and on standby.

LS-MOONLIGHT laser blade on standby.

The Raven smiled. It was kind of funny hearing the AC respond, yet sad at the same time. For some reason, Zeo-Matrix had sent an EGRET head with a voice matching the Raven's mother. Irony or on purpose, nobody knows. It could be Zeo-Matrix's way of commemorating their former best pilot for all of her years of service and for the use of their products. It would make sense, considering most of the equipment she used was made in a Z-M factory. The Raven started to remember many situations in which the mother had cared for her child, falling asleep in the cockpit.

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The Raven woke up a few hours later to the sound of the ship's alarm. Something was wrong, and this mercinary knew it all to well. The raven sat up in the cockpit and commed the bridge. "Captain, this is Raven ZX-10573-MARS. What the hell's going on up there?"

The comm screen opened and revealed the face of a middle aged man, whose eyes still held the fire from his youth. At this moment, however, he looked stressed. "Raven?!? WE'RE UNDER ATTACK, THAT'S WHAT!" He turned his head towards a crewman. "PORT THRUSTERS, FULL BURN!" The ship shook as the thrusters were engaged, moving it to the side and, hopefully, dodging whatever the hell was shot at them. "Bastard Neo-Core! THEY SET UP A SERIES OF DEFENCE CANNONS ON THE MOON! RAVEN, WE CAN'T GET ANY CLOSER! YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO RISK A HOT DROP, AND I MEAN HOT!!!" He keyed off the communication to the raven and opened up a shipwide band.

"All Ravens are to report to the drop bay at once! Repeat, all Ravens are to report to the drop bay at once!" The Raven knew that only an AC can enter the drop bay, for it contained the drop pods that all the mechs use to go planet-side from orbit. Zeo-Streak's startup commands were processed quickly, allowing the Raven to move. Another Raven pilot stayed near the wall to avoid the Zeo-Matrix mech and get into his well armored Emeraude. His started up in no time and followed Zeo-Streak into the drop bay. The two machines were about to enter their pods when the comm started up again.

"ALL HANDS, BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Not even a second after he finished, a powerful plasma round forced its way up through the decks of the ship and destroyed the hangar, along with the three AC's still in there. The raven glanced back for only a second, surveying the hellish carnage that once was the hangar, before entering the pod. The two pods were then moved into firing position underneath the ship. The Emeraude's pod was fired down first. The Raven watched as the pod began its speedy decent and prepared for this pod to launch as well. Before it could launch, though, another round smashed into the side of the ship, causing it to spin slightly off course. The pod fired ten seconds too late and was sent away from the battle, and the intended target. The Raven paniced and tried to get Zeo-Streak out of the pod, but there was no way that AC was ever going to get back. The pilot watched in horror as more pods were dropped onto the moon. All four ships were destroyed in a matter of minutes. Very few pods were able to launch from those ships before they were destroyed, and even fewer pods ever made it to the moon. The Raven watched as her comrades were launched way off course or shot out of the sky. Only six pods survived, three of which were sent off course, including the raven of Zeo-Streak.

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"This is patrol team M-05. Nothing to report over in section A-4. Continuing to section A-3."

"Rodger that, M-05. Continue your patrol. Nightblade out." Josh sighed as he checked his montiors. 'Damn, nothing on radar at all.' He looked at his weapons gagues for the tenth time that night, then checked the comms. 'Mirage just had to hire us over the Ravens.' He thought of the vast amount of equipment that he had, with the main chasis and generator actually being Mirage products. 'But, it's the least I can do for them always having something out for AC pilots.' He checked his systems again. The Karasawa mounted on his right arm fully charged, Moonlight Blades on his left, Slug shotgun and low trajectory missiles on his back, shoulder mounted napalm rockets, and a great intercept system. Even the core's Exceed Orbit machine gun was primed. 'Because of Mirage's access to Zeo- Matrix specs when that company left for Mars, these weapons have become the stuff of legends and are powerful enough to take anything down.'

"Team M-07 reporting. Area B-7 clear."

"Understood, M-07. Check out area B-9, and step on it." Josh looked to his right console, spotting Shadow. Piloted by his friend Jake, aka Night Shot, that machine was the lightest and fastest machine they have. An assortment of parts from all the corps and a powerful sniper rifle make him deadly. And his natural sniper abilities have been helpful before, and they may be needed again. He was also prepared for close quarters with a light and fast blade, as well as a missile and laser launcher system for support. Emergency napalm rockets were standard issue for team Dark Doom.

"M-10. Area C-12 is dead as a doornail. Moving on to C-13."

"Move it, lugnuts, or else it's my bazooka up your armored metal asses!"

"DARK BOMB! SHUT YOUR HOLE!" Josh hated it when his best friend, Kyle, became like this. When the blood or boredom gets to his head, he could care less about allied MT support, as well as whoever gets in the way. He chose only the heaviest equipment he could handle, mounting several heavy weapons on a single heavy suit. The AC is as well armored as any could be, and could take a fight to the enemy. A TITAN missile strapped to his back, a chaingun on the other shoulder, a gernade rifle, flamethrower, anti missiles, napalm rockets in the core, and Exceed Orbit laser cannons made the Juggernaught a force to recon with.

"Heavy MT group M-02 reporting. Sector D-15 is secured. We picked up another blip on the radar again, but its gone. Possibly an enemy or else an animal taking a piss. Either way, it's close to Sector A." Josh groaned. MT radar was hopeless, for it picks up anything that generates abnormal heat. That could be anything from and enemy unit or rocket to some Joe and Jane trying to get it on.

"M-05 here. Check your radar again. I didn't pick up anything."

Josh moved his machine closer to Sector A from the rooftops of Mirage's factory. From there, his radar barely picked up a contact. "Battle positions, M-05. Incoming bogie, 3 o'clock." He enhanced his AC's magnification to get a better view. His RE/008 could barely get a lock on the unit, for it was almost as dark as the night. Only the few white plates and red eye on the unit gave it away. He reconized the head as an AC Skyeye. His computer pieced together the remaining parts of the enemy and came up with something. "Put your game-faces on. Enemy Raven approaching. Death..sythe...07. SHIT, THEY SENT THE ACE!" He turned his AC towards his two mercinarious comrades. "Nightshot, go greet our friend before he gets to Sector A. All MT units in all areas, scan for any other heat scorces! The ACE doesn't like to go alone!"

Shadow started to move, but then halted and hoisted up his sniper to fire. "Nightblade, possible second contact trying to get to sector C. I can't see him too well."

"Worry about the ace. I'll join you shortly." Shadow's Skyeye nodded, then overboosted to position. "M-02, turn these lights on now!"

"But sir, the enemy will see us if we..."

"And we can see them as well. One may be near the base, so TURN ON THOSE DAMNED LIGHTS!" Lights were flicked on, revealing the landscape and the enemy within the shadows. A tank type AC was visible, its mostly black armor dully shining in the light. It wielded a laser cannon and gernade rifle on its right, flamer and missiles on the left, and loaded with lots of armor plating. Computers ID it as Painbringer. "Sector C, enemy tank AC approaching! He must be trying to smash his way through. Dark Bomb, give them support. Watch it, that's the A-3 pilot."

"I'm on it. Gonna have me an order of scrapped AC and a side of salvage."

"You pay for the wine when this is over in victory. Now lets move." The two ACs went in seperate directions. Josh put his thrusters to full as he dashed his way to give Shadow a hand.

"Damn, he's fast. I can't get a good shot in. Get here quick, Nightblade."

"Just hold him off a little longer. I'm on my..." His systems started to whine its locked-on alarm, followed shortly by an incoming missile alert. He ducked behind an upcoming building, just barely dodging the missiles by a corner. His radar then detected AC activity.

"Nightblade, a third AC has entered the base, completely bipassing Section A defenders. Computers say its an A-2 ranker in a light machine."

Josh snapped on a comm to M-2. "You should have told me sooner, he almost got me!" He switched to all MT channels. "M-02 and M-08, report to sector C and give M-10 and Dark Bomb support. M-07 and M-06 get over here and help me out. M-05, M-03, M-04, give Nightshot some major support on the double. We have to take these bastards down!" He cut the channel and began his attack.

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Suprise Attacks end.

Loading Prologue part 2: The A rankers

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Jake was starting to crack under pressure. He never missed so many times on one AC before. Now that Josh was holed up by an A-2 pilot, he'd have to handle the ACE alone. He aimed and fired another shot at the incoming AC, managing his 5th glance. He locked on again when a warning siren sounded. Fifty yards, far to close. He took the shot as the AC slashed his gun, slicing the sniper rifle in half and sending the shot wide. Deathscythe swings his energy blade again, only to have it intercepted by Shadow's now gunless hand at the wrist. Jake then armed his laser blade and prepped the laser cannon for firing, then lunged his blade right for the black AC. Deathscythe parrayed the swing by swinging his gun arm to intercept, the clang of metal on metal resounded through the area. Jake then activated the cannon, which prepared to fire while he was standing. There was no way that he would remain standing after firing, but the Ace would take it head on.

Deathsythe's red eye glowed in reconizing the emminent threat, tilting to the side at the last second. The energy blast was fired, damaging the core and head of the enemy suit, but sending Shadow off balance as well. It fell backwards, but the grip on Deathsythe's arm prevented him from falling down. The metal of Deathscythe bubbled and sagged from the blast, but most of the head survived the shot. The ace knew that the cannon would be ready to fire in a matter of seconds, so he acted fast. He engaged his Overboost, the force sending them both straight. Deathsythe saw the building up ahead, and slammed into it full force with Shadow used as a shield. The laser cannon, plugged by a piece of rubble, exploded as Jake shot the cannon at the worst possible time. Realising his mistake, he dropped the cannon and armed his rockets. Deathsythe stared at the shoulders as they opened up, firing the deadly missile into the black core, igniting it in flames. The ace backed off, not wanting to get hit again by the napalm rocket. Shadow's visor was a little messed up, but Jake could still see the damaged suit not too far away. The siren wailed once more, Shadow was badly smashed up. The screen flashed its warnings.

'System Error: Output Down! Warning: Armor Low!' The message repeated itself several times, before Jake noticed how bad. He had mere seconds of power left, and he wasn't about to waste it. He armed his twelve shot missile launcher and struggled with the controls to keep the lock, until all twelve missiles were on target. He hit the fire control, just after the MTs showed up and the Deathscythe somehow jammed his lock. The missiles deployed, seeking any other target and slamming them down. Six MTs fell as the missiles connected with the armor plating.

"HEY, WATCH WHERE YOU ARE AIMING!"

Jake watched dubfounded as his missiles took the MTs down. "He has a missile jammer." He chuckled a little, then looked at his display. "He got me good, I can't fight anymore. Get them for me." The gadgue read zero as the AC's green visor faded to black.

'Defence system damaged. All combat systems shutting down...' The visors and gagues turned off, surrounding Jake in the shadows of Shadow. The only sound he heard was the sound of MTs failing to stop a single damaged AC.

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Josh ducked behind another building just in the nick of time as more missiles streaked past where he was, slamming into a nearby building trying to arch its way after him. "A-2 ranker, my ass! He fights more like a super ace!" He heard an overboost as the AC identified as Blur charged towards the corner of the ally. Josh jumped as the machine gun chattered, trailing his path as he climbed on top of the sector. His monitor pinged.

"He got me good, I can't fight anymore." Jake had been defeated, the core's many warning systems going out of control in the background. "Get them for me."

'Shit! Not even MTs can scratch an ace. Gotta finish this soon.' "Dark Bomb, get your target, then converge on my position. We must get these guys now!" Josh then aimed for his enemy, dropped down, and fired his Karasawa rounds.

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"Damn! I'm gonna get that ass for that." Juggernaught was still hauling ass over to where Painbringer was reigning all sorts of hell. The MTs were hitting, but the AC just plowed through them like it was nothing. His warning indicators blared as his target started to come right for him. Kyle was surprised, it seemed that the pilot of Painbringer was preoccupied with shooting out the enemy MTs so much, that he didn't realise that there was another AC in the way. Acting quickly, he dropped his machine to one knee and armed the chain gun. He pressed the trigger, sending the rounds on target towards the incoming tank. The bullets started to tear tight into the armor of the tank, worsened when the orbital guns started to take aim. The Ac looked Juggernaught in the visor before arming his gernade rifle, firing it into Juggernaught's chest. These attacks failed to phase them both, and neither one moved out of the way. A loud crash was heard as the two machines collided, with Juggernaught bening forced backwards with Pain Bringer. Both continued to fire at each other at point blank range, causing each other amounts of damage that only their types could handle. Gernades impacted, bullets flew, Lasers sliced up the air between the two machines, and flame throwers ignited them both as neither one could get out of the mad dash started by Painbringer.

But Painbringer was winning, for they both slammed into yet another building, greatly bashing up the heavy machine. Plus, the tank was using all of its weapons, while Juggernaught still had one unused. Toggling the weapon, he kept his flamethrower going just a bit longer as he locked on with the TITAN. Lock was confirmed, and there was no escaping it now. "Sorry buddy, but its up to you now. I'm about to play checkmate." With that, he fired the missile.

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Blur looked around, trying to find where Night blade disappeared. His scanning equipment was hit rather hard, so radar was offline. No matter, it was an inconvenience for the AC to be stationed at this base. It started on its way to the main building when a warning indicator flashed, just before the left arm controls locked up. Warning sirens blared in the light machine as it discovered that its blade arm was completely severed, taken off with one shot. He whipped around, pointing the Mg/500 at the core of the blue AC, whereas his own core was in danger from a point blank shot from Karasawa.

"Your empty, and your mine!" Josh yelled over the comm.

"So are you, but Grim Reaper has you," the pilot said right back.

"Sorry buddy, but its up to you now. I'm about to play chackmate." Josh barely got that before a loud and large explosion was heard. Only one thing could make that kind of noise, a TITAN detonation. Josh was shocked, both of his teammates were downed, and now his enemy seemed to have two downed cores left. His warning indicator flashed with another missile warning. He turned and fired his own missiles, resulting in both columns of misslies being intercepted and destroyed. The red visor of the RE/008 met the red camera of Skyeye.

"It seems we both have only one weapon left. Let's finish this like true warriors." In response, Deathscythe dumped all of his emptied weapons and his anti missile systems, keeping the Sol. Josh followed suit, sparing his Moonlight. The two sparred, white wave blades against black wave blades, both of them equally matched. Their attacks kept negating each other. Neither one gave up though, fighting on until only one will emerge victorious. Josh tried to swing one more, only to discover to his horror that he abused his generator. "It seems I lose." The Sol's beam hit the Ac dead on, causing the unit to collapse.

The Deathscythe stepped near the fallen AC. "Good match. You almost had me." It looked at the damaged Blur, before motioning to the AC to follow. The duo made it to the main building, where a badly burned Painbringer was waiting for them. The three machines entered the building, coming face to face with an unfinished Core with what appeared to be a larger Karasawa. All three used their remianing weapons to destroy the facility and the AC, until molten metal was all that was left. "Mission is complete, returning to base."

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This is a first in two ways.

1: First AC fic i've ever written

2: My brother came up with this idea himself. But he hates to type, I've got the account, and I thought I should add a little to it.

This isn't the end yet, this was only the beginning. Chapter one will come out shortly, but three reviews are required for chapter 2 to show up. Till then.


	2. Chapter 1: Touchdown

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter one: Touchdown

Three machines trudged their way back to Global Cortex, avoiding the use of their thrusters to keep their integrities in tact. The three pilots have had a long day, hunting down Mirage's facility was one thing. Having to fight over 50 heavy MTs and three ACs guarding the place was a little harder. It was a motly trio of Ravens as well, and all three were pretty badly damaged.

Deathscythe VII, piloted by the ace Raven, Grim Reaper, was in better condition than most of the others. The entire Core was riddled with bullets, dents from explosives, and slightly charcoaled in several sections. The most notable damage was on the upper right of the machine, where the shoulder and head armor got melted and cooled quickly because of a near miss with an enemy's plasma cannon. His equipment, which was dropped during combat, was currently in a fellow Raven's hands, although he carried his damaged MG/1000, his RE/111 radar, and his Sol blade.

The lighter machine was Blur, piloted by Demon, the A-2 ranker. Built for speed, he had the misfortune of fighting the middleweight of the enemy AC team. His core was also riddled with scorch marks from near misses. His left arm was gone, destroyed by a lucky shot from a Karasawa. His machine gun is empty, yet he still retains a few missiles.

Painbringer couldn't exactly trudge along, because he had no real legs to speak of. His massive D3ta tank tread, tore up the ground as it advanced through the sand. Piloted by the hot headed Devil, the A-3 ranker, he is the most dangerous with his weapons only, but can't turn all to fast. His heavily armored machine, currently, carried the battlescars of two heavy ACs firing their heavy weapons at point blank range. Singed armor, bomb dents, bullet wounds, and the coup de gras. A very large hole was visible on the heavily armored core, where the enemy AC took a chance and fired a TITAN missile at point blank range. He is lucky that the missile didn't completely destroy his AC. All of his rounds were depleted, and he currently was carrying the dropped MWM-S60/12 missile launcher and the remains of Blur's left arm.

They arrived at a massive structure, the one place all Ravens go. "This is Global Cortex contacting AC group," an operator names Lians stated on the comm, "please identify yourself."

Nick, the Grim Reaper, opened a comm. "This is Raven MVS-10736-A-Earth, Grim Reaper reporting. Sending identification codes." He keyed his terminal and sent the required information.

"Raven MVS-10737-A-Earth, Devil. Sending identification codes." Nick looked as Chris's tank had it's lights glow as the information was sent. That's when he noticed the front end of his tread module smashed in between the treads.

"Raven MVS-10738-A-Earth, Demon here. Sending codes now." Eddy's single eye glowed brightly, then dimmed as the data was sent.

"Identification confirmed. Welcome back to the nest, Ravens."

"It's good to be back. Grim Reaper out."

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"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!" Chris stormed out of the garage a few minutes after parking his machine. "LAST TIME I WORK FOR CREST! THAT PAYMENT CAN'T REPAIR ALL THE DAMAGE AND REPLACE THE DAMNED AMMO!"

"Geese, tell the entire nest why don't you." Nick and Eddy trailed after their hot headed friend. "We could barely keep our suits as they were either. Hell, Deathscythe needs those two sections reinforced, otherwise I need to buy a new Skyeye and STO."

"Besides," Eddy chimed in, "Keep in mind that my unit's left arm was severed. I'm better off buying a new arm part than repairing the circuitry." He stopped to think. "If it's ok with you guys, I would like to borrow the computer tonight so I can soup up Blur."

They arrived at their room a short time later. "Computer's yours, Ed. Just don't take too long."

"HEY, GRIM REAPER." Nick turned around and instinctively blocked an incoming punch. The blue haired girl that threw it smiled. "I see that your still in top form."

"Tanja," Nick smirked, "there has to be a better way to get my attention."

She giggled slightly. "What better way than making sure you pay attention to your surroundings. You ARE the ace, after all. Make sure that you don't get beat outside your AC." She turned to leave, but then looked at him. "By the way, when will you be ready for another bout?"

Nick sighed. Tanja was the one who beat the controller and held the rank of A-1 for over two months. But ever since her friends and herself lost their A rank in the arena, all three have constantly tested the trio to keep all six of their skills in top form. "Our AC's are currently under maintenence. They won't be ready until midday tomorrow. And before you ask," he tossed her a chip, which she caught in relative ease, "all the data on what happened is recorded on that chip." She smiled, pocketed the chip, then walked into her room just a little ways down. Nick ruffled his short, brown hair and returned to his room.

Inside, his partners were already prepared for a party of sorts. Chris, who is about 18 and the youngest of the group, was already digging out the booze that they would be drinking for the night. His wavy, dirty- blonde hair went halfway down his forhead and failed to match his brown eyes. He often was taunted for his rather short stature, but he can handle himself in a fight, AC or human. His hot headedness has given him the Raven name Devil for two reasons. He can toast just about anyone if the blood gets to his head, and his own body heat created a rather heated aura for some god-forsaken reason.

Eddy is at the computer, making his AC requests to the shop and analyzing tactical data. His golden brown eyes read each line as he messed with his short, black hair. About 19 years old and at 5'7", he preferred speed over firepower and brains over brawns. Like Chris, he can handle himself, but despises fights outside of an AC. He is called Demon for the fact that he seemingly appears and disappears during the course of a battle.

Nick himself may be the leader of this motly bunch, but isn't all that different from his fellow partners. About 5'9" and 20 years old, he sported a body that wasn't all that skinny, but not quite fat. Compared to his rather average sized friends, he has the most strength and could take down any foe outside of an AC. Often forced to think on his feet, he normally follows orders and sticks to old military tactics to accomplish a mission, but can't handle the really technical stuff. His callsign, Grim Reaper, was noted for how quickly he managed to slice his way through the ranks and make it to #1 Ranker. Also, noone walked past his mech without getting a limb on their AC severely damaged.

He sat down on his bed and flipped through the Global Cortex channels, having a lot of thoughts on his mind. Amongst them was about Tanja, the blue haired and blue eyed girl he encountered in the hall. Roughly about his age, she used to be the Ace. Ever since she was shot down to B-1 ranker, she had always tested him. Quite a few men have looked at her for her looks. She often kept her hair long and straight, was about 5'5", amply shaped body with a more than average bust, so who could blame her for attracting unwanted attention. She was the smartest and strongest of her own team, the Breakers.

"Hey Nick. What'd ya do with Jen this time?" Chris didn't need to bother asking, considering she always threw a punch at him every time their paths crossed, which was at least three times a day.

"What else? She threw a punch and I blocked it." Nick started to flip through the channels some more, finding nothing but crappy soaps. "She also asked when it would be safe to challenge us again."

Ed looked up from the computer. "What, again?" He sighed. "I bet her team is just trying to get their ranking back again. That damn Linda almost gets me every time." Linda, better known as Sprint, piloted the fastest machine on earth, and is one of Jen's, aka Tanja's, friends. Normally fashioned after an old MT, it would be easy to hit, if she didn't always zig zag and fly around the field.

"Ya said it," Chris yelled, already having half a bottle of the strong stuff in his gut. "Bet lets see ya batle Kelly. Taht damned amor is ass tough ass min." Kelly, Big Shot to Ravens, piloted a tank type that rivaled the Pain Bringer in firepower and armor. "Ya ask meh, they gots a thing fer us." He starts chuckling to himself. Ed was about to make a snide remark when Nick interuppted.

"Hey, an AC news story."

'_In other news, war breaks out on the moon. After suffering from an MT attack, Mars sent a strike force of NERVES RAVENS to attack the Neo Core corporation located on Lunar. Their efforts appear to be completely thwarted, however, due to stiff plasma defenses set up near the colony. A day of mourning for the lives of the Ravens and crew that have died in this suicidal attack, while some hope for the safety of those Ravens stranded on the moon and those now lost to the recesses of space.'_ Pictures were shown of the five freighters from Mars and their attempts to drop their cargo onto the moon. It also showed as the ships and a good majority of the pods were destroyed, while also showing several pods hitting the moon. Several more were seen veering off course, one of them streaming by the space camera.

Nick stopped the program and rewound it, a neat feature on the tv that seemed alot like those old ON DEMAND crap from before the Great Destruction. He then froze the screen so that the entire pod was locked on. He managed to see through a viewport in the pod, revealing a blue Zeo Matrix machine housed within. "MY GOD! GOING UP AGAINST NEO CORE WITH THOSE ANTIQUES! THEY ARE EITHER BRAVE OR STUPID!" Both partners looked at the sleek machine.

"Boy, I don't know whose luckier. The dead one's, the ones lost in space, or the ones that made it." Chris commented.

"Uh oh!"

All eyes where on Ed. Whenever he said 'uh oh,' that meant he just noticed something. "Spit it out, Ed. What's wrong?"

"That pod is heading here," he stated. "You could easily tell by the angle the camera's positioned."

Nick looked closely and barely was able to see mars in the background before the pod blocked the view. "Your right, but that pilot's a goner. Nothing can get even close to earth without id, otherwise it gets shot out of space." For the rest of their night, they started to chat on the survivor's slim chances of victory on the moon against Neo Core before finally going to sleep.

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The pod kept floating out in space, and the pilot of Zeo Streak was beginning to wonder about many things. Where was she going? Was she going to die out here? What happened to the survivors of this hellish day? She couldn't do anything else now, except pray.

The gravity of earth ensnared the tiny capsule and started to drag it down. Surprised, the Raven didn't realise what was happening until she saw the curve of the earth. She strapped herself in and prepared for the pod to seperate once it got through the atmosphere. The outer hull started to burn up as the atmosphere tried to stop it. The pod broke through within a minute and pummeled down to a desert region on the surface.

The pod, though, didn't open on the way down, slamming into the earth with the AC still inside. The pilot looked at the visuals, activated combat mode, and smashed the pod open. Once freed of its large and cramped prison, the Core jumped high and engaged its over boosters to put some distance away from her and the pod. She went as far as she could, stopped to recharge, then boosted some more. After doing this five times, the AC stopped and took a knee. The cockpit opened up and allowed the young Raven to get herself out. She removed her helmet, shook out her waist deep red hair, and examined the horizon with her reddish brown eyes. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, getting used to the atmosphere with each calming breath. "So, this is earth," she spoke to no one in particular. She turned and faced her AC, which stared back with its angled red visor. "Mother's home planet." She fell asleep out on the sand, her AC watching over her like a guardian.

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"HOLY SHEEEEEEEEEEEET!" The three AC's started firing into the fortified defences of Lunar, which was trying to destroy them all. Of the three machines, the forest green Emeraude had taken lead, being the highest ranked Raven that made it. He was accompanied by a Zio matrix sleek model, similar to Zio Streak. It is a grey and red suit with a green visor equipped with a mild shield system, an energy assult gun, low trajectory missiles, a plasma cannon, and missile interlock systems. Called the Red Death, it shot without abandon with its plasma cannon while the other two gave it cover. A heavier Zio model had also made it. Equipped with the Rook core, the sleek egret head, the mighty VISE arm, and the ZIO/MATRIX flagship hover legs, this AC was literally armored to the core. Add the fact that it has the spread bazooka, chain gun, plasma cannon, throwing sword, and anti missiles, it was quite a force to recon with. This Blue and black unit is called Midnight. "THAT'S FAR TOO MUCH FIRE POWER! WE CAN'T TAKE THAT ON!"

"Fall back for now! We can't get repairs out here and we need a new plan." Another plasma bolt flew across the field, which was easily dodged by the team. "GO NOW! I'LL COVER YOU BOTH." With that, Destructor engaged his boosters and began his attack on the installation. A middleweight machine with a Nighteye, XROK, 2112 arm, and 02A legs, it is quite manuverable for an Emeraude. Equipped with rockets, missiles, an intercept system, 3443 blade, and semi automatic 10LB long range rifle, this is an adequate machine that is doing its job well. Dashing left and right, using his energy sparingly, he fired onto the enemy base and destroyed several MT units coming after him. Once his team made it out, he retreated as well. "Neo Core, you will pay for what you did on Mars and to us today. I swear it."

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Team Doom started on their way to the desert region on the surface. They woke at midday to the sound of the comm ringing.

flashback

Nick groggily got up and answered the comm. "Grim Reaper...what is it?"

A technician responded on the other side of the comm. "Your team's ACs have been fully repaired and refitted. You can also tell Demon that the Speed Demon is now complete."

"Thanks. Just put it on the tab." He colsed the link and turned to Eddy, who had just woken up. " 'Speed Demon'?"

"Yeah, I made the request last night. Now my AC is alot faster." He was grinning at his supposed brilliance. Then the call came.

end flashback

"So, we are supposed ta get ta the MTs and investigate, right?"

"You got it, Devil. Global Cortex discovered that something got through the planetary defences and touched down here. The MTs were sent out early today to secure the perimiter, making sure nothing got in or out." Reaper looked at his data display. "We have no idea what it is, so they thought that a Raven team could handle the situation if it got a little dicy."

"We're here," Demon chimed, his vastly lightened mech thrusting forward at full burn. "Let's see how Speed Demon handles." Deathsythe and Pain Bringer activated their overboosts, just barely able to keep up with the light machine.

"I don't get this. Where are ta MTs." No sooner had Devil said this did his AC crash into a stealth MT, mowing it out of the way.

"Asked a stupid question." Reaper laughed at Devil. "Why is it you always crash when you aren't in battle?"

"Shut it!"

"Ravens. It's good to see you." The MT leader sounded relieved. "Nothing has entered or left the area since we got here. The object is 1500 km away."

"Rodger, we'll take it from here." All three made sure there weren't any hidded MTs anywhere before overboosting to position, arriving in minutes at the destination. Half buried in the sand was a pod. "What the... it looks like a drop pod."

"I'll vouch for that, Demon." Deathsythe approached the pod, cautiously looking around for any sign of danger. He carefully examined it, noticing the usual. Atmospheric burns, damaged armor, Locked seals. "Wait a minute. Drop pods burst in midair. This one must have malfunctioned."

Pain Bringer inched closer. "I don't think whatever was in there survived. Look at all the structural damage. Not even an AC can handle that rough a landing."

"Your wrong, Devil." Reaper said matter of factly and pointed his left finger at the pod. "Something did survive, and it broke out. Look." The other two ACs then noticed an entire section had been rammed out from the inside.

Demon turned towards the MT line. "How soon did you guys get here?"

"We were a little slow, due to it being very early this morning. If your saying something got out before we got here, then that may be possible."

Deathsythe continued his scan of the area until he noticed the missing sectoin of the pod a few km away. He walked over to it and had the mech drop the machine gun to pick it up. He examined the plate, then dropped it. "Guys, we have a Mars AC down here."

"WHAT? ARE YOU SURE?" His teammates were surprised.

"Look at the armor." He pointed to the plate he dropped. On it was a Zio Matrix logo, along with a number. "This is the same pod that was launched at the Lunar battle, one of the few Ravens launched off target, the exact same one the news caught on footage." He picked up his machine gun and opened a comm to the MTs. "Return to base, our job here is done." He looked at the damaged pod and barely saw the outline of an ACs footprint, surrounded by a slight depression where the thrusters were activated. "We have to report this to Global Cortex before something comes up."

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Two ravens were in the middle of an arena fight in the wastelands on the surface, giving their best. The two are heavy armored machines with bipedal legs. One had red and black armor and was loaded with missiles and a bazooka. His opponent wielded a blade, machine gun, medium missiles, and a TITAN launcher on his midnight black armor. They were each at each other's throats when their radars detected another unit in the battle arena. They stopped and stared at the direction, spotting a sleekly designed blue machine. They initiated scans, but failed to identify the parts the AC used, let alone its name.

"What the hell?!? This is a private match." The red one aimed at the newcomer, but his enemy held up a hand.

"I'll handle this." He stepped up and opened all frequencies. "This is AC Deomlition to unidentified AC. You have entered a battle zone. Leave now or you will be fired upon." The AC didn't respond and continued on its way through. "Unidentified AC. Leave now or you will be fired upon. This is your final warning." The AC still didn't respond, and was now getting closer to the two ACs. His systems then wailed, warning him that something was scanning his systems. "That's it, you asked for it." He armed his Titan, locked on and fired. The giant missile went straight for the blue Ac, which didn't seem to notice the powerful and deadly warhead. Its visor glowed a bright red just before the missile exploded, engulfing the fragile AC in flames. "We warned you." Demolition turned around when it detected a lock on.

"BIG MISTAKE!" The pilot grimaced as a loud female voice came from his speakers. He turned around to notice that the mech was untouched, aside from some scorching from the explosion. It then charged in for him. He backed up and both machines fired on the blue one. Their shots were evaded as the AC slid left and right, getting a little airtime as well to avoid some shots. The two former rivals put some distance between each other to better hit the mystery AC when it landed in the middle. It turned to face the black one, while the red one locked onto the blue AC. Before she had a chance to move, Bloodlust fired his missiles at it. The blue AC looked behind a second, then jumped into the air, effectively avoiding the missiles as they slammed into Demolition. The black machine used its standard thrusters to dash back to aviod the few still arching after the blue mech. He didn't even hear the whine of an overboost as the blue machine dashed right into his face, a blackish-blue blade visible from its arm.

"A moonlight..."

****

SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRAKKKKKKKKKK!!

The black titan collapsed as its legs were severed by the mighty blade. Blood lust stared at the carnage before dropping all of his equipment and overboosting out of there. The pilot fell unconsious as the blue machine overboosted away, one thougth still in his mind. "That mech is strong. We didn't even scratch it..."

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That is chapter one. I didn't plan on having a lot of action in this chapter, unfortunately, but it did find it's way in anyway. I already have two reviews because of the prologue. One more and the second chapter will start. Remember, this one was a freebe because of the prologue.

Now a moment to speak with the current reviewers:

BloodyKitsune- Thanks for the review. I am looking forward to seeing yours and don't intend on letting this one die, provided i get three reviews for each new chapter.

dasvidoniya- Really? Glad to hear that, more will come. Thanks for the notes about nonravens, but they can let their imagination run wild if they want. This isn't based on Silent Line either, I'm still trying to hunt that down.

I hope to hear from some more reviewers, and maybe from the current ones again as well. Till next time. Oh, almost forgot. I don't own the Armored Core series, just the cores I created for it. At least the pilots are mine.


	3. Chapter 2: Encounter

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 2: Encounter

Team Doom's ACs parked just near the Raven's Nest, waiting for the operator to notice them. Lians saw them almost instantly. "I see you three are back already. Just send in your IDs, and.."

Nick interrupted. "We can't enter right now. We need to speak with a Global Cortex representative immediately."

Lians frowned. It isn't often that a Raven requests to speak to a representative, but she couldn't ignore them. "FYI, I am a Global representative," she flatly stated. "What got your panties in a bunch?"

"Simple," Ed replied. "Your organization sent us on a mission to figure out what landed on the surface this morning. We returned to share the information."

"Then why sit in your cockpits when we can sit at a table and discuss this?"

"Because our fearless ACE leader discovered something that needs to be looked at immediately." Chris hated speaking to representatives, but it really was important.

Lians rubbed her temples. "Hang on a second. Pulling up files." She worked at her computer quickly. "Alright. You were sent to assess the situation. Well, what's the situation."

"Lians, pull up the video data from last nights news report. Topic, War on the Moon. Duration, thirty seconds, then freeze frame." Nick knew what she would see when she was done.

She frowned again. What could a news clip have to do with a Raven mission, she thought. But she did as she was commanded, pulling up last night's war file. She froze it at the point specified, which showed the Zio Matrix pod starting to pass the camera. "Done. What am I supposed to be seeing?"

Nick grinned. "Your looking at what dropped down onto earth early this morning. That pod was the object, and we have reasons to believe that the AC pictured in that clip may have survived the crash. I saw an AC's foot tread surrounded by thruster wash in the sand."

Lians looked at the clip and saw the blue AC within it. She was about to reply when all the Comm channels got pinged. "I need help! Someone, HELP MEEEEEEEE!"

She noticed a red and black armored AC approaching the Raven's Nest at overboost speed. All of his weapons were gone. "AC, identify yourself!"

"Damn you, bitch!" Lians's right eye twitched at the word. "FINE! MRO-1423-N-earth, Bloodlust. Now help me!"

Lian scanned the data, coming up with a match. "Raven confirmed. You are supposed to be in an arena battle with Demolition. What is the problem?"

"An unidentified AC entered the wasteland arena and was getting in the way. We halted combat and warned the AC to get out, but it ignored us. Demolition fired at the AC as a warning, but that made the AC attack us. We tried our best, but that blue machine was too fast for us." Lian and Team Doom started paying attention. "I haven't a clue who made it, but that pilot was able to trick a set of missiles into hitting the wrong target. The AC didn't even fire a shot, even thought it was seemingly well armed."

Nick keyed into the conversation. "This is ace raven, Grim Reaper. Did you say a blue AC of unknown origin?"

Bloodlust was shocked that the ACE was listening in on him. "You heard me. An unknown, blue god dammed AC."

Nick sent the frozen clip to the pilot. "Did it look like the one pictured in the pod?"

Bloodlust stared at the picture, then gasped. "That AC was MARTIAN?!? I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!! I had no idea mars ACs were that powerful!"

"They're not," Demon butted in, "but their pilots are said to be aces. Reaper, I think we're going to need backup. That AC is too dangerous to tangle with alone, according to our friend here."

"Hate to admit this, leader, but Demon has a point," Devil mentioned. "I may be up to a challenge, but I think we all would like to return alive rather than matchboxes."

"Agreed. Lian, are there any AC teams that have nothing left and are in peak condition."

"Should I contact them upon finding them?"

"No, I want you to call them when we are all long dead. OF COURSE YOU SHOULD CALL THEM, ASAP!" Lian muttered about impatience and began her search, while also setting up Bloodlust to lead the recovery team to where Destructor currently was.

"I could get you four ACs, but that's the best I can do."

"As long as they're good pilots." Nick relaxed and decided to wait for the four to arrive. It wasn't that long a wait, for the doors opened within five minutes. The first machine out was blue, and its configuration made him groan. He recognized the Re-008 head and MX/002 EO core easily, further augmented with Orc legs. The arms were modified from the light Marte to the medium Sol, but still carried the XCB/75 rectangular shaped laser rifle, the handy LS-2551 laser blade, M24-2 missile launcher, and M30 rocket. "TANJA!!"

The machine turned towards him and flashed its visor at him. "Were you seeking assistance? I brought the whole team and the B-4." She jerked Hunter III's sword arm behind her, pointing out the team. Quik Death V was next out of the Nest, its bright blue and green colors standing out. The Rachis head and Ner core were mounted atop an aircraft type hover leg, granting Sprint the best possible speed and keeping it twenty meters off the ground. The arms were large and powerful laser cannons, making it impossible for the suit to go close quarters. It also wielded M30 rockets, M36-4 missiles, and featured R20 interlocking missiles, making her quite the missile master.

"Sprint here, and I'm ready to spin circles around the target." She opened and closed her right arm cannon, noting her eagerness.

"Big Shot here, and I'm ready to unload on them." Her Ac, the Hell Bringer, rolled out. Its deep black armor glistened in the sunlight, showing off the parts with relative difficulty. Consisting of an MM/004 head, IKS core, and bulky Casks on a D3ta tread legs. This black behemoth also wielded the FTL450 flame-thrower on the left, GR-12 Grenade rifle, LQ/35 laser cannon, and CNG-300 gattling gun. Further equipped with napalm rockets, this AC is well known for burning up her opposition.

The fourth machine walked out of the hanger. It wasn't a part of the Breakers or Doom, but he was the only other AC available to fight. It was clear that he has cash problems due to his machine, but is pretty damn good to be the B-4 ranker. Equipped with the RE/004 battle head, ORCA mech gun EO core, Marte arms, and the MX/EDGE speed legs combined with flight boosters make this one fast, but weak machine. Taking only the SOL throwing blade, the SRF-80 sniper rifle, and a RE/111 radar, it was painfully clear that he wouldn't last very long if left in battle too long. The greyish white machine shined its blue 'eye' at the team leader. "Raven here, One Shot is ready."

" 'One Shot?' Guess your a good sniper. And what's with the name 'Raven?'" Nick just loved to test unknowns.

"Damn right I'm a sniper, but the computer didn't record my name. So, I just go out as Raven."

Nick sighed. "Oh well, at least you lot are great pilots." He started to send out the image from the news to all ACs. "We are going out to locate this AC, which is currently roaming around somewhere near the Wasteland arena site. Lian, how much will we earn for getting this guy?"

Lian thought about it. "I'll pay each raven about 90,000 credits if you guys bring it back with the pilot alive. This will be increased to 120,000 if you had to bring it down to drag it back. But, you will forfeit the reward if the pilot is dead. Considering the situation, the AC should be the only target. As ravens, you know that nothing is always as it seems. With the conflict on Lunar, we may have a few enemies that wish to take this AC down. Good luck to you all."

Tanja's mech was the first to move. "Well, what are we waiting for. The sooner we go, the sooner we get paid."

Nick smiled. That was the Tanja he knew in the arena. "You heard the ladies. LETS ROCK AND ROLL!!" The two EO mechs hitched an overboost ride from the tanks as all seven ravens sped off after their target.

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Destructor led the tiny team of ACs as far away from the installation as they could. Their mission was washed up. Their entire fleet of freighters destroyed, nineteen fine Ravens dead, and three more lost in space. They were all that were left of the 25 Martian team sent to cripple Neo Core to nothing. There was little hope for the three that survived, who couldn't even dream of getting repairs for their machines if they got attacked. Red Death was busy scouting ahead. They had to make sure they weren't about to enter an ambush, their machines would never make it. Because of his speed, there was little chance of him being spotted or hit, whereas Midnight could attract allot of attention. Destructor is in no position to fight either, for half his ammo was used giving cover fire earlier and fighting off pursuing MTs. He faced the facts. Either they get killed by an enemy attack, die of suffocation (which would be a possibility in a little under 72 hours), or die of hunger. Dying in a blaze of glory was starting to look like a good idea.

"Destructor, come in."

"Destructor here. What did you find, Death?"

"No enemy units to speak of yet, sir, but I did manage to locate something that we can use."

"Hold on, we'll be right there." He looked at the dark machine next to him, barely able to see due to the dark, starry sky behind him. "We better move. If we can use it for extended periods of time, then we could keep this up."

"And if not, we cut it down. No point in wasting any more ammo unless necessary." Destructor grinned. At least these Ravens were skilled and smart, whereas most others couldn't handle doing both simultaneously. The duo overboosted to Red Death, who was crouched down and ready for anything. He stayed his ground as the duo arrived, and he pointed his sword arm towards a crater. Destructor and Midnight took a look.

"What in the name of..." There was a facility embedded in the crater, rather old by the looks of things. The doors were large enough to allow the three machines to enter side by side, with lots of room to spare.

"My scanners picked up no activity inside," Death reported, "but it does have rather high levels of oxygen. If there are materials inside, we could use it as a base of operations."

"Let's check it out then." Destructor led the team into the facility, noticing that this stuff was well over a century old. Possibly during the time before the Great Destruction. They entered cautiously, guns trained for any sudden moves. They got through the corridor, which was an airlock, and entered the facility further once it was pressurized. Lights went on as the machines examined the area, revealing old crates of weapons and metal plating. A nearby sign said "Battleship repair hangar," and the weapons were easily large enough.

"Ravens, welcome to home base." Destructor said, confirming that there was no real danger. He opened the cockpit and exited the machine. He removed his helmet and breathed in the air. His brown hair stuck up all over as his grey eyes scanned the place. He appears no older than 20 and has an average build. "Come on out, guys. We got air to breathe and things to do."

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"I see something up ahead." Raven peeked into his sniper scope, spotting a blue machine traversing the landscape. He looked down at Hell Bringer, who was still bearing his machine's weight as well as its own. "It looks like our target guys. I'll keep lookout from here." With that, One Shot jumped off the bigger machine and kept low. The rest of the group overboosted into position and examined the area. No form of cover around, just them and the Martian AC. Hunter III dismounted from Pain Bringer, walking forward. Deathsythe went ahead, followed by Speed Demon and Quik Death V. The four machines made their way to the slow moving mars AC.

"Hey, Demon," Sprint said, so that they weren't bored. "I like what you did to your machine."

Demon blushed slightly. "Thanks, but this thing is going to kick your ass when we get into the next arena fight."

Sprint grinned in her cockpit. "We'll have to see about that when the time comes."

"Cut the chatter, Sprint. Reaper's trying to communicate to the raven." Tanja's voice on the Comm sounded quite harsh.

"Unidentified AC. This is Grim Reaper. Hold and identify yourself." The machine continued to walk forward, as if it didn't hear a thing. "Identify yourself." It stopped and turned its head, its red visor glaring from the sun. It looked each of the ravens over, slowly moving its head and examining each and every one. Static was heard over the Comm as the mech scanned for the channel. The seven ACs had their alarms go off, but their pilots ignored them, knowing that the AC had no weapons armed, yet.

"IS honor something that this planet lacks?" the Comm asked. Nick stared at the AC, which had turned completely around. "Having seven Ravens like yourselves surrounding a single AC sounds hostile."

Nick sent his response. "With reports that you defeated two ravens with relative ease earlier, precautions had to.."

"Ah, so your hear for VENGEANCE for what I did to your comrades. IS that IT? Last I recall, the other bolted when his friend was felled."

"We didn't come for a fight. We came to locate and..."

"Too bad, because you really got me in a bad mood now!" The AC charged towards the team, Moonlight engaged.

"Get clear, but don't fire a shot!" Nick yelled before engaging his thrusters to evade the incoming machine. But the Martian AC was far too fast and was about to hit when a shot was sounded. All ACs looked to the source of the sound, reconizing Raven. He was dashing full speed backwards, shooting his sniper at another AC. This one was built bulkily, and it was equipped with some hellish looking weapons. Amongst them was the wierd Karasawa that team Doom had destroyed last night. "What the..." Nick scanned the newcomer, but couldn't ID the name of the unit. Hell, he couldn't even ID who the hell built the damned thing.

The tan machine armed its gernade launcher mounted on its back and fired. Raven dodged, but all the ravens were shocked at the moment. That AC was a bipedal, but it fired that gernade while dashing forward as if it were a tank. Tired of running, Raven charged in and made a quick slice before the machine could react. He barely could get any penetration with the weapon, and was sent flying when it swung its bulky left arm into One Shot's core.

"Give him some cover! TAKE THAT BASTARD DOWN!" Nick yelled on the comm. Even the mars AC charged in, with it's gun armed this time. The weapon was identified as a mars pattern Karasawa MKII, and the AC fired the weapon with precision. Even thought the shots hit, however, the titan was unphased and fired a retaliation shot of plasma from another back weapon on the move. All the ACs were keeping their distances from the AC, not wanting to get too close to get hit hard. The tanks fired their gernades and the speed machines fired their main weapons, while the mars unit fired laser rounds, Tanja fired her missiles, and Reaper fired his machine gun. The AC just accepted all the hits, easily enough to have turned the two tanks into scrap ten times over, yet not even a spark emitted from it.

Raven charged in again and fired his sniper, until he got in close enough to use his blade again. The Titan ignored the hits and grabbed the machine by the head, crushing the equipment and lifting the machine into the line of fire. They stray shots of delay damaged the light machine, but Raven wasn't through yet. He activated his core's EO and fired the last of his sniper rounds while continuing to slice the machine up. His efforts were futile. "Damn you, bastard! Go down already!" Nick over boosted. If he didn't act fast, that machine would easily destroy One shot with just that much. He swung is sol blade, sending a wave of energy at the side of the AC, catching its attention. It armed its rifle and fired a shot at the ace, who barely managed to dodge the large blast.

"Holy shit!" Nick had no time left, charging in to try and free Raven. The AC swung One Shot into Deathsythe, sending the Ace too far away to make any difference. The other ACs surrounded the monster and fired where they saw openings, but then the monster had enough. He pointed his rifle at the still struggling Ac and pressed it against the core. Nick got to his feet and fired his missiles, but those didn't stop him. The gun fired, tearing a hole right through the cockpit of the machine, Raven's yell deafening the pilots as the cockpit was turned into slag. It then chucked the now useless AC into Quik Death's hover legs, shorting them out with the powerful impact. The AC landed into the dirt and continued to fire its lasers. The monster aimed for Linda with the deadly rifle, preparing to finish her. Eddy saw this and engaged his overboost, ramming the hover unit out of the way as the shot was fired. It tore throught the boosters of Speed demon, leaving it a greatly handicapped heap on top of Sprint.

Tanja was about to react, when she noticed that Deathsythe had stopped moving. She analyzed the stat of the armor, only to discover that the pilot was heating up. "OH SHIT!! EVERYONE, RUN!!!!!!!!! BERSERKER!!!!!!!!" All the ACs that heard that hauled ass, excluding the immobile Quik Death, Hunter III, and MARS. Nick screamed in rage as he unloaded all of his ammunition into the macnine, accompanied by any ally that could fire on it. The AC started to take damage before Deathsythe charged in for close quarters, cutting the rifle in half. Tanja and the mars pilot charged in and helped, slicing up the monsterous machine. Its weapons were all destroyed by precise attacks from Deathsythe as the other two damaged as much armor as possible. Sensing defeat, the AC vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving several damaged ACs and one decimated machine behind. Nick started to calm down, his body heat returning to normal. He immediately opened the cockpit and landed into the soft dirt. The other ACs converged on his position, eisembarking from their machines as well. Tanja got out and went to Nick, trying to comfort the young man fighting back tears. He may have just met Raven, but he never wanted to leave a battlefield with his ally dead. Linda stood next to Eddy, her ebony hair whipping around in the wind, her blue eyes showing sorrow. Her body was rather slim from running around, but she was in no mood for that at the moment. Big Shot stood next to Chris, the same expression on her face like everyone else. Better known as Sara, her sandy brown hair blew around little, staying close to her shoulders. Her green eyes surveyed the sight, flexing her hand in anger. Her body was well toned from continuous training, and her bust was above average in size.

The sound of an AC moving snapped them to attention, noticing the mars AC kneeling down in a funeral like fashion. The cockpit opened, letting the pilot get out. She wasn't wearing her helmet, letting her red hair fly in the wind. Her eyes were a brownish red, and were currently showing some sorrow for the lost mercinary. Her body was well built, with the right proportions in all the right places. Her bust filled out rather nicely, but weren't so bloated that they literally stuck out like some girls. Her appearance seemed to be that of an eighteen year old. She walked over to Nick and kneeled down before him. She then grasped the side of his head with her slender hands and pressed her forhead onto his, muttering something in Martian. When she backed away, all the ravens present looked at her.

"I apologize for my action earlier. It was wrong to assume that you were picking a fight." She spoke rather calmly, probably because she didn't know who was piloting One Shot. She looked at the wrecked AC. "And I am sorry for your loss. I feel it too, but I have grown used to losing a valuable friend in battle." She spoke in a softer tone. "Too many friends."

Nick looked up at the martian. "I understand. I know I haven't known that raven for too long, but we took the same job." The others then spoke all at once. "We are Ravens, and we know the risk of every mission accepted."

The girl smiled slightly. "We are Ravens, and we never stop fighting till the mission is over." She walked over to her machine and inputted some commands. The machine moved automatically and picked up the fallen Raven. "The best we can do for him now is park his AC in the Garage and clean it up. The Raven's AC will act as his grave, and his soul can seek the afterlife in safety." She noticed the odd looks every one gave her for her comment. Blushing slightly, she explained. "Martian tradition for fallen pilots. It's been our belief for decades."

Nick then walked up to the martian. "Allow us to introduce ourselves, then, before we go back to the nest. Grim Reaper, ace pilot of AC Deathsythe VII."

Chris was next. "Devil, raven pilot of heavy tank AC Painbringer."

"Demon, mercinary pilot of agile AC Speed Demon."

"Tanja, pilot of battle AC Hunter III."

"Big Shot, commander of tank AC Hell Bringer."

"Sprint of the hover AC Quik Death V."

Each pilot had put a hand in the middle of a circle, with a space left open for the martian. She smiled briefly before sticking her own hand in. "Pilan, martian ace of the battle AC Zeo Streak." They broke the circle and boarded their own ACs. They traveled the distance to the nest in silence. Speed Demon held the still damaged Quik Death, Hunter III hitched a ride on Hell Bringer, and Zeo Streak carried the remains of One Shot. The trip was silent, excluding when they were halfway home. "Reaper," Pilan asked, "Who was the pilot of this AC?"

The Skyeye of Deathsythe peered over its shoulder. "He called himself Raven, sniper expert." On the comm, they heard her murmur something in Martian, with the only translatable part being the mentioning of Raven.

"What did you say?" Tanja asked.

"I was wishing that Raven could rest in peace, knowing that we will avenge him for his death."

Nick smiled. "Trust me, we never leave a debt hanging around."

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That's it for this one. Love it, Hate it. I'd want to know. The end was probably the suckiest I've ever had. I don't think that they acted right, knowing that one of their own was dead. Who was that mysterious AC? Find out next time.

We have one new reviewer now.

Ryuushen: Thanks, and I hope you do great on your fanfic as well. I know the prologue was a little confusing, but I didn't want to spoil the identity of Zeo Streak just yet at that time. And i bet that trio, who appeared to be the main chars, threw you off a little as well, right? Hope to hear from you soon.

Don't worry, the next chapter will come soon. I promise (as long as there are still intrested readers)


	4. Chapter 3: Revelations

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 3: Revelations

Lians was at her console, analyzing the status of all the checked in Raven teams. Not a hell of a lot for her to do at the moment. It is about 8:00 at night, and the only event that she had to handle was the assignment of Raven and team Breaker to team Doom for a Martian man hunt. Those seven haven't been heard from since they left at 1 that afternoon. If they were destroyed, there was absolutely nothing she could do. She just watched the horizon, looking for some sign of the team out there.

She saw it immediately. It was small, at first, but it was getting bigger. She saw what appeared to be a series of red stars out at the distance, then a couple of red visors became visible as the arrival of ACs was made apparent. But it wasn't the sight she had expected to see.

Deathsythe lead the group back to the Nest, his armor rather banged up. It had appeared as if his AC was hit rather hard by a large blunt object. Hunter III was right next to the black AC of Doom, sporting a few scorch marks from the near misses that she had encountered. Painbringer and Hellbringer were there as well, and looked pretty banged up by the looks of things. Speed Demon was trailing the bulky tanks, his hands full with the flight less Quik Death V. The seventh AC's scanner display wasn't the same as the One Shot AC that left with the group, and it seemed to stay a distance back to avoid being seen all too well.

Lians tapped her console and opened a channel to the group. "Welcome back. Everything go as planned?"

Comm was staticy, but Reaper's voice was clearly heard on the other side. "We found the raven, if that's what your asking." On cue, the seventh visor advanced enough to reveal the sleek armor of Zeo Streak. It wasn't hit all too much, but the object it had draped in its arms in a bridal fashion. Lians gasped when she reconized the charcoaled wreck in those arms as the reminants of One Shot. "Another mystery AC attacked and killed Raven. We were all damaged by it, and it was very damn tough. It got away though, but not before we decimated all of it's weapons."

Lians coughed. "I'm sorry for your fellow raven."

Tanja butted in. "Don't be. It comes with the job, and it's a risk that all ravens take."

Lians nodded. "I understand. Just send your codes and I'll let you in." All six earth ACs responded, their codes matching those on record. "Welcome back to the Nest." She then looked at the mars unit. "I am going to need to debrief all of you in the conference room with the Martian immediately."

Comm was interrupted again by an unknown sorce. "We will not arrive until Raven's AC is treated properly, and the pilot's soul is guaranteed safety."

"Sorry bout that," Demon interjected. "Martian tradition for fallen pilots, or so she says."

Lians groaned. "Fine, but save your blessings and prayers for him until after the debriefing, please."

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The seven pilots showed up in the conference room about a half hour later. All of them were still in their flight uniforms, which were green and brown for the earth ravens. Pilan's uniform was a rust red with grey segments. Lians was waiting for them at the table, her blonde hair extending down to her rear. Her blue eyes gazed upon the seven ravens before her. She has an average body size, for she is an athletic during her off time. Her bust was there, but smaller than average. It appeared even smaller in the stiff operators' uniform, compared to how it would look in the form fitting flight suits.

The group explained their mission to Lians, often referring to thier optical displays quite often. On these displays were live action feed that repeated itself amongst eight screens, with each AC's current stats noted in each window. A ninth viewer was opened as well, revealing the approximate configuration of the AC that damn near killed them all. After hearing from all of them, Lians asked Pilan about her mission. She revealed that she was supposed to lead the strike team of Mars ravens on the moon, which was noted on another viewer with the news report. She also noted that she wasn't supposed to be sent to earth, but one of the shots that hit her transport sent it spinning uncontrollably before she was jetessoned.

Satisfied with what she had gotten from the ravens, she told them the current situation on the moon. "While you were away, it appears that there was a major battle near one of Neo-Core's bases. Information is scattered, but there are many reports of Mars Ravens on the planet." Pilan looked up. She had thougth that they might not have made it, considering what happened to their entire battalion of Ravens. "Their stiuation isn't all that good, however, even if they are still alive out there. They are completely cut off from any sorce of ammunition and repair, have only their mechs, weapons, and rations, and only enough air to last the better part of a day." She looks at Pilan, noticing the small flicker of hope in her eyes start to disappear. "Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it would seem that you are the only true survivor of this futile effort. Those three are most likely going to die of suffocation if they aren't shot down first, then Neo Core will most likely retaliate on what's left of the Mars nest. At least, that's what I would do if attacked by ravens."

Tanja looked at the Martian, who appeared to be slightly depressed at the most recent news reports. "What's going to happen to her?"

Lians looked at the martian. "We can't send her home, for there is a chance that the ship would be attacked on transit. And I am NOT going to be sending another Raven to his or her death for quite a while." She started to tap on her computer, inputting commands. "We can grant her access to a hanger for her Armored Core 'Zio Streak,' but she's going to need to bunk with another raven or group."

Nick looked up. "We'll take her, if she feels like it."

Sara turned at the man. "Like hell you are. Who ever heard of ravens sharing rooms with opposite genders?"

"Married ones and good friends," Chris piped up. "I've seen them around."

Linda glared at him. "I know where you see them, in your drunken dreams. I could smell your damned liquor from across the hall."

Ed spoke up. "You think his drinks are bad? What about you, eh? I saw that bottle of votka in your room."

Tanja spoke up. "That was mine, and they would have passed out if they took even a drop." She then cooled her head. "Out of all honestly, I would care less as to where she goes. Nick could be trusted, but your two wingmen I don't trust."

Nick sighed. "She got us there, boys."

"Then it's decided. She stays in team Breaker's room." Lians added the info to her computer. "All of your ACs will be reloaded, but both Demon and Sprint won't be able to use their ACs for several days for repairs. Early following morning at best if they wish the parts to be replaced. The Bringers will need about 2 days for repair or they are ready at late afternoon tomorrow if there are replacements. Only Deathsythe and Hunter can get back to work by mid morning, assuming you wish for repairs." The six checked their price tags for repairs or replacements. Only Tanja and Nick chose repairs. Lians looked over to Pilan. "As for your AC, we can reload it easily. Your lucky that you took almost no damage, for we can't actually repair a martian AC all to well." She merely nodded. "Alright then, the debriefing is over. We will send all of you information on that mystery AC as soon as we can. Dismissed."

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The seven pilots reported to their rooms for some well deserved rest and relaxation. The boys entered their room, while the girls entered the room not too far away. Once inside, each one went to their normal routine. Team Doom went to their menial tasks upon entry. That meant that Chris 'Devil' went to his hard liquor, Eddy 'Demon' checked the computer on possible upgrades he wished to do to Speed Demon, and Nick the 'Grim Reaper' checked the channels. His face, however, clearly showed that he was absolutely not interested in anything the screen showed him. He even ignored the arena footage in the standard arena, which showed that Ace was still as good as he ever was by spinning circles around before finally defeating Royal Mist and his Kaiser AC.

Chris noticed this. "Yo, leader of death. Wha's with da look?" He had drunk the strong wiskey again, going well over the single shot dosages.

Ed looked back, noticing this as well. "Dammit, Chris. He is trying to cope with what happened out there." He shook his head. "You of all people know why as well as I do."

Chris drunkenly looked at his wing mate. "Ya mean wen we war da damn sheeeeet mech pilots of them damed MTs." He rolled his eyes. "Ya still avn't gotten ova that yet?" Nick stared at the screen, flipping throught the channels. He didn't even bother to respond, for he didn't want to remember the events of that day. "Sheeeeet, man. Get ova that lready. That waz a yer ago, n he wazn't az great as..." He never finished that sentence, for Nick suddenly jumped off the bed and slammed the drunken pilot into the wall. He then held Chris there, grabbed the bottle, and shattered it on the nearby table. The liquor still within splashed onto the floor and the table.

Nick stared the young man in the eyes, fire burning rather ferociously within them. Chris started to sober up alot faster than ever before. "DON'T...YOU...**EVER**...let me hear you say that again. Do I make myself **_CLEAR?!?_**" Chris nodded, unable to speak because of the deathly tone that was present in Nick's voice. It was as if he was speaking to the real Grim Reaper. Nick suddenly let go, causing the young man to fall flat on his ass and scramble away. "I'll see you guys later." He opened the door and exited, slamming it shut the instant he left.

Chris stared at the door for a good minute. "I-i-i... I h-have nev-ever seen his so...so..." Eddy just rolled his eyes and returned to his work.

"I tried to warn you, but you had to jump the gun."

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At the girls room, they were getting their new friend aquainted to her temporary home. Sara 'Big Shot' was busy showing Pilan where she would sleep, which was a fourth bed that was right in the middle of the other three. Linda 'Sprint' was trying to take her mind off of things by working out on her treadmill, amping up the speed every few minutes. Jen 'Tanja' was already speaking to Pilan about the way things are run on the earth nest, which wasn't all to different from the martian's colony. Pilan was sitting on her bed and was fiddling with her hair, when Linda looked up before upping the speed. "Hey, Pilan. What's your real name?"

The red head didn't even move. "You just said it." That response almost had Linda go flying off her treadmill. All three earth girls just looked at the Martian, knowing she would answer because of the staring. "Don't you use your real names for your mercinary duties?"

"Of course not." Linda was perplexed, she had never heard of any raven using their real names.

"That's the way it works on Mars." She then looked at the trio. "What are your names?"

Sara pointed at Jen. "She's Jen, but you know her as Tanja. She was piloting that blue AC out there." The red head nodded as Sara pointed to Linda, who had resumed her jog. "Linda's over there, she was piloting the AC with the hover legs. Call her Sprint outside of this room, though."

Linda glared. "I can't afford to use those anymore, Sara. I just have to use those EDGE legs that Demon was using. Besides, hover legs drain my generator."

The stronger girl shrugged. "Whatever." She turns back to Pilan. "My name is Sara, Big Shot on the field. I was in that all black tank you saw earlier. But, I'm going to need to change up my AC again."

Jen turned from her computer. "Use your heavy legs, they are faster than your treads."

Sara frowned at her friend. "But then I can't use my big weapons. I would have to neel down to fire them."

"Then use my Optional Part INTENSIFY." Sara's mouth gaped open, while Linda really was thrown off of her treadmill.

"YOU have INTENSIFY?!?"

"Of course. Union gave it to me after one mission, before we formed a team. I don't actually use it, though." She shifted to her computer again.

"What is INTENSIFY?" Pilan asked.

Sara looked at her. "Only the most powerful and rare optional part an AC could get. It makes the pilot and machine act more like one piloted by the legendary Human Plus ravens." Pilan's eyes glazed over upon hearing that word. She didn't hear as Sara rambled on about how great the part was, for she was lost in her own memories. She saw herself near a building on the mars colony. She saw two ACs battling for their lives. One of them was Zio Matrix's mass production model, while the other was eerily similar to the AC they had battled that day.

"Pilan? Pilan?!" She snapped out of it, looking Sara in the face. "Is something wrong?"

Pilan blinked. "N-no. Nothing's wrong." She then decided to change the subject. "What did Jen mean by 'Berserker' back there?" Sara and Linda flinched, for they weren't expecting Pilan to ask that question.

Jen turned around. "A berserker is a robot pilot that looses control of themselves in the heat of battle. They are an extremely dangerous bunch of pilots, and are often said to have Human Plus abilities in such a state." She paused, letting Pilan sink that in. Before she started again, she noticed that the Martian's eyes had glazed over again. "Pilan?!?"

The martian stirred, blinked, then looked at Jen. "Oh, I'm sorry. Please continue."

Jen gave the girl a quizzical look before continuing. "Anyway, Berserkers aren't born like that. Many of them have faced some sort of tramatizing event that made them go on a rampage. Many pilots try to avoid teaming themselves up with berserkers, for it isn't always clear what may set them off. In Reaper's case, it seems that witnessing the death of a fellow pilot on his team or seeing a teammate about to get killed will set him off." She was about to continue when a loud bit of yelling was heard across the hall, coupled with shattering glass. A minute later, a door could be heard being slammed shut, and the one who used it was storming away.

Linda placed her fingers onto her forehead. "Aw man, not again!" She walked out of her spot and went for the door. She opened it in time to see Nick walk past, anger fuming from his body. She disappeared from the door as she went to Doom's room. She returned to their room a minute later, rubbing her hand. "Chris did it again. Nick is royally pissed off."

Jen looked at Pilan. "Nick is the Reaper." She then turned to Linda. "What did that drunk do?"

"He touched upon that _subject_. You know the one." The other two girls moaned, realizing what that buffon had done.

"Damn. He's gonna be like this for a while." Pilan got up and started to leave. "Hey, where are you going?"

Pilan turned around and looked at the team. "I'm going to the hangar. I need to make manual adjustments to Zio Streak for earth combat." She left before the girls could stop her. She wandered down the hall towards her private hangar, taking her new information and her plaging memories with her.

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She walked into the hangar bay minutes later, looking through the various sections for her AC. She walked past the reminants of the once proud One Shot, which had its core covered in a large cloth. She stopped in front of the machine and prayed for the pilot's soul to find some sort of peace, knowing fully well how he had died. She stayed there for several minutes when she heard footsteps elsewhere in the hanger. She got up and followed the sound, passing many more ACs as she went. She then entered the section reserved for the Breakers, Doombringers, and her own AC. Deathsythe's red eye glowed dimly, but enough to indicate that someone was inside. The cockpit was opened as well, with a dull light shining inside. Curiousity consumed the Martian, thus she moved closer to the cockpit and peeked inside. There sat Nick, who was looking at a data display on his console. He didn't notice Pilan until she had decided to enter the cockpit.

The noise alerted him. His head snapped up and looked at the young girl who had wondered into his machine. "What are you doing here?" His voice was hoarse, and tears were barely visible on his face.

"I was...just coming in to fix up my AC. I heard you in here and decided to find out what you were doing at this hour."

He continued to glare at the girl. "And what the hell would you want to do with your AC at this time of night?"

"Adjust its dampeners for earth combat. I battled both you and that other raven in moon configuration, thus making me less effective in battle." Nick blinked. She had piloted very well in earth's gravity and managed to stay alive this long. But, her claming it was set for a moon fight put him slightly on edge. With a lack of gravity on the moon, the AC would have needed to adjust to it with downward thrusts to keep it on the surface.

"You were flying with a moon battle system? That _is_ a surprise."

"What were you doing down here, when there seems to be nothing importaint requiring your AC?"

Nick glared at the girl once more. "You said that you have lost many friends on the battlefield. Because of that, it made you the fighter you are right now, correct?" She nodded. "Unlike you, I haven't lost a single person that truely mattered to me until just a year ago." He reluctantly motioned for her to come to the console. She moved next to his seat and looked at the screen. On it was a picture of four MT pilots, with their MTs in the background. Devil was next to a red anti AC unit. Demon was using a small and fast MT equipped with a plasma cannon. Nick was next to a standard combat MT armed with a machine gun, missile, and blade. The fourth pilot was standing next to an MT fashioned for aerial battle, and all four pilots were smiling happily.

"The pilot over here," Nick started, pointing to the aerial pilot, "was Joe. He was an excellent pilot, and was also my best friend."

Pilan looked at Nick. "What happened?"

Nick sighed. "What I am going to tell you never leaves the cockpit. Understand?" She nodded again. "Last year, we were assigned our final mission as MT pilots. We were to enter a battle that was expected to take place at one of Crest's MT factories. We were to partner up with another Raven, and a mission complete for us would allow us a shot at the Raven Test." He then glared at the screen, tears were starting to well up in his eyes again. "The mission went smoothly, the five of us were kicking the living shit out of the enemy. Then another AC arrived, warning us to get away from the AC partner. It turned out he was a traitor, and was actually assigned to make it look like Crest was winning. But he was to kill all four of us once the mission seemingly ended and steal the prototype weapons that Crest was building. The new one was Tanja, before she became leader of the Breakers, and she was determined to take the AC down. We ignored her and followed our orders, until the AC showed his true colors. He turned his bazooka on us and shot down Joe. When his MT crashed into the ground, it was reduced to rubble as he dashed up and fired point blank into the core." His supressed tears leaked down his face. "I snapped....and went berserk. With my team mates' help...we killed the Raven...and avenged Joe's death. But, the damage was done....and Joe was...gone."

Pilan listened to his sad tale, feeling sympathy for the raven. Now she understood why he was a berserker. She held his head in her hands and pressed her forehead against his once more. "Your not the only one who has lost one you cared for." Nick looked up, noticing tears stream down her face as well. "On Mars, a rogue AC attacked all of the colonies and destroyed any opposition in his wake. My mother....she was his last victim." Nick knew of this a little bit. He was about twelve at the time, but it was a serious incident. It was said that the Raven that initiated the attack was severely damaged against his final opponent, thus sparing that colony and all the remaining ones. The pilot's location and status are still unknown.

Pilan got up and started to leave the cockpit when Nick followed her out. "I'm sorry for your mother." He said.

She turned around, then slightly smiled. "Out of all honesty, I fashioned my AC after hers. To me, its as if she is still there, protecting me and everyone that she cared for." With that, she walked into her cockpit and closed it behind her. She activated the unit and set it to configuration mode. She then turned on the visor, which showed Nick outside of her machine. He looked at the AC for a while, then turned around to leave. She immediately set to work, with Zio Streak replying to every command. She started working at a standard pace, at first, but then was getting it done at a speed unparalelled by any other human on earth or mars. When she finished, she didn't bother leaving the cockpit. Instead, she turned the machine into idle mode and slept inside her machine. 'Don't worry, mother. I will get that 'PLUS' and avenge your death. Like I promised I would ten years ago.'

Chapter 3 is over. It would have been done faster, if the computer wasn't about to crash about a week ago. No worries now, we flushed it's memory and restored the system (with this data saved onto floppy). Next chapter will be out soon. Until then, Read and Review.

Oh yeah. Ryuushen, i hope this chapter answers some of your questions from your review. and i will try to identify which ACs take damage in the future as well as possible, but all AC players knows how hard it is to keep track of where the shots go in heated combat.


	5. Chapter 4: Oblivion

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 4: Oblivion

A mild beep was heard within the cockpit of Zeo Streak. Pilan slept through it for five whole minutes before finally beginning to stir, her eye open halfway and looking at a screen to her left. Two virtual envelopes were listed on the console, signaling that she had mail. She knew it wasn't from Global Cortex, for any mail meant for her would have been sent to Tanja's room, not her AC. The first message didn't have a single clue as to the writer.

'Mars Raven. You don't belong here, and your planet's efforts against Neo-Core are futile. You are only protected so much by Global Cortex, but we will get you. Prepare to meet your death real soon.'

She immediately deleted the message. 'Filthy bastards. They haven't a clue what the hell's going on, unless they are from Neo Core.' She then turned her attention to her second piece of mail. Her eyes widened sharply, for the sender was Destructor. She immediately opened it, scanning the page quickly.

'To all Ravens that made it onto lunar. This message is specially encoded to prevent prying eyes from reading it. As you know, the transports were destroyed upon detection, taking down a few of our pilots. I don't know how many of you made it down, but your assistance in completing the mission is now dire. My team currently consists of three ACs, not enough to take the enemy on forever. Coordinates of our migration nest is further encoded on this message. We pray that you arrive in time to help our homeland.'

She would have smiled, knowing that her friend was still alive. She didn't, though, for no one was left on Lunar except for him and those two allies he had, and she was stuck on earth until further notice. She sat in her cockpit for five minutes thinking, then set up the message system for a reply to Destructor. She sent it out, then disembarked her AC to find her friends, the lunchroom, and a bathroom.

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Destructor was busy using his AC to help sort out some of the larger objects and mechanisms inside Alpha Nest. All of the equipment was a little old, but also had prototype equipment that easliy looked like Martian AC parts. This led him to assume that someone tried to create a colony on Lunar shortly after Earthlings started to move into space. An old Murakumo colony base existed on Mars, so this possibly was from that era as well. He stopped working and had his Nighteye scan the area quickly. The other two ACs, Red Death and Midnight, were held in storage bays that were apparently used for housing older AC models. Most likely, the two pilots were still on board napping. Destructor decided to let Doom and Dark sleep, they would need to be well rested to tackle Neo Core later.

The nighteye of Destruction beeped for its pilot's attention. "Encoded message detected. Shall I open it?" Destructor looked at his screen, noticing the message was encoded in Martian code.

'It must me a member of the strike team,' he thought. "Open it." The AC processed his request and activated the file within seconds. It was a video file, showing a Zeo Matrix emblem. He was about to groan, thinking it was a corporate represenative, until he noticed Martian writing under the emblem. It said 'Zeo Streak II.' The screen then changed to a picture of a red headed girl with brownish red eyes. She appeared to be 18 and was within the cockpit of a Zeo Matrix core. His eyes widened, he reconized the girl. "Pilan," he murmured, remembering the last time he saw her. She was on the same ship he was on, but he never saw her pod touch down.

"Destructor, its Pilan. As you can tell, I am alive and well." She smiled, but it wasn't a big one and it sure as heck wasn't cheerful. "Unfortunately, this isn't a time to be happy. I got your message seeking help, but I'm the only one that will respond. No one could see what happened all too well, but I saw everything clearly. The transports were destroyed, along with all but six of us. You three are the only ones on Lunar. Two others were lost in space, whereas I'm stuck on Earth and their damned goverment." Her expression drooped with his. There was no backup left, and she was too far away to be of any assistance whatsoever. "I'm sorry that this transmittion didn't get you what you wanted, but there isn't a hell of alot either one of us can do. I am trying to seek some way to be transported to Lunar, but that will take time. When I do, I will enlist some help from earth. I just hope that we can get there in time." She touched the screen with her hand, as if she were trying to reach Destructor through the screen. "I won't let this mission fail. I will get there and finish what we should have started already. I pray you stay alive long enough for us to assist." She had spoked completely in martian during her entire message. She reached higher on the screen to hit the send switch, with a very depressed look on her face. She then wispered something in a language only those two knew, then reluctantly ceased connections.

Destructor sat in the cockpit for a whole minute in silence after watching the file, then closed the screen. He then looked at a spot on his control panel, spotting a three year old photo of the duo as MT pilots. "And I you," he said to no one in particular, then went back to work. If they were trapped without backup, then all they could do now was harass.

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Tanja, Big Shot, Sprint, Devil, Demon, and Reaper were already at the mess hall when Pilan entered. The six looked over at her for a second, then invited her over to their table. She reluctantly accepted their invitation, for she had planned on eating alone. She collected what she wanted to eat and sat down, although half the stuff she had taken she wasn't too sure was actually edible. When she got back with her breakfast and started to eat, Tanja decided to speak. "Pilan, where were you last night?"

Pilan glanced up at the earthling, giving her a questioning stare. "In my AC." Tanja lifted an eyebrow, while everyone else except for Reaper spat out their drinks. She looked confused at the ravens' reactions. "Is there a problem?"

Reaper cleared his throat. "Pilan, it isn't normal for a Raven to sleep in their AC while they are in the Nest. You were granted use of the Breaker's quarters for a reason."

Pilan glanced at him. "Believe it or not, I prefer sleeping alone." She sipped her coffee, only to spit it up a second later with a look of disgust. "Yech!! You call this coffee!?!?"

Demon rolled his eyes. "I call this earth. Its natural that our versions of coffee are different." Pilan grimaced at her drink and threw it away, getting the disposable cup into the basket without even looking. She went to her food, only to have a slightly similar reaction to it as well.

Linda, or Sprint to employers, giggled a little. "Seems our foods are different as well. Maybe you should just have the fruits."

Sara shook her head. "Their atmosphere is slightly different, Linda. She probably won't find anything on earth that she may like." Pilan decided to just ignore the taste at that point, for hunger would overtake her sooner or later. The others dropped the subject and returned to their meals. They ate in silence, for they weren't able to think of many possible subjects that the Martian might partake in. Nick had noted how open she was when she spoke to him, but didn't seem to want to speak too much on a subject. He had tried to speak to her back when they were returning to the nest the first time on a private channel, but she barely responded. When they were about finished, Devil decided to try and start up one.

"Anybody get any good mail?"

His five friends glared at him. "Aside from the payment mail, hell no!" is all that the Breakers had to say. Devil put his hands up in self defense.

"Anyone get any THREAT mail?" Pilan asked. That turned a few heads at the table.

"Threat mail?" Tanja questioned. Pilan nodded. Tanja stopped to think a minute. "Not since I lost the A-1 rank."

"I get them all the time." Reaper said. "Of course, those are just from some Ravens that get in my way, and they threaten to have their revenge." He started to snicker. "Of course, most of them are so poorly skilled, they can't scare anybody."

Pilan got up and started to leave. "Heed my words. A few loners that vow revenge is one thing. having to handle a whole load of them at once is a trying task." She stopped at a mission board and looked at it. She frowned at the missions, which were too pathetic sounding to matter.

"Looking for a mission?" Tanja asked. The Martian nodded slightly, but made no sound. "Nick and I have accepted a tough job. Might be benificial if you tag along."

"Another time, perhaps. I have something I need to do." With that, Pilan left the room and headed to the Garage.

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Hunter III and Deathsythe VII sped down towards the desert region, trying to get to the mission area. Grim Reaper was checking the stats of the mission that he and Tanja had just accepted. Considering her skill and preference, it was Mirage that had employed them. One of their bases has been constantly attacked by unknown forces. It is too far away from a mysterious 'Silent Line' to be a target by that kind of force, but something exceptionally powerful had struck the base time and time again. To make matters worse, it was an AC factory, where the parts they often sell to the Ravens are made. One of their sensors have detected a force of MTs approaching the facility, and a strike force sent to stop them has failed to return communications. They are there to simply protect the facility from the impending attack.

"Tanja," Nick started on the comm, "any idea what kind of MT they are using?"

"They haven't a clue. All they know is that it is almost as strong as a standard AC, or so they say." The two took up positions at the base's perimiters, with several more newtype combat MTs at the ready. These models appeared to have a small STO core and were armed with laser blades, missiles, and a laser rifle. They are pretty mauverable and could take a bit of a beating, making them reliable units for MT warfare. Unfortunately, they must be fielded in numbers or in the hands of a skilled pilot to take on an AC.

"Ravens, there here. Hold them off!" No sooner had the employer said that, the enemy force arrived. There were about twenty MTs, but they looked nothing like any MT ever encountered in Layered or on the surface before. These ones were roughly the size of an AC, and appeared to be just as strong. They all appeared to have gatling guns on their right arms, rockets and missiles on their backs, and missile interception system installed. They immediately attacked, taking out three MTs without them taking a single shot. Mirage's units returned fire, but the manuverable foes were barely hit my the attack. Deathsythe and Hunter joined the shooting, firing machine gun and laser rifle rounds into the ranks. They actually scored the most hits on induvidual units, but failed to take even one down. Under normal circumstances, the enemy would have fell to their shots, noting that these were stronger than regular MTs. The enemy fired into the ranks with a whole variety of their three weapon types, taking down even more of Mirage's guards and just scraping the two ACs.

"They are pissing me off! Reaper, give me cover fire!" Before Deathsythe could respond, Hunter was already boosting towards the enemy, firing her rockets into them. She managed to take one down by blasting its leg off. Deathscythe fired at them with his gun, then switched to his missiles. They locked on immediately and were sent for their targets. One managed to dodge half the missiles completely, but the other mystery unit took them in and exploded, collapsing onto the ground. Hunter was now close enough for her favorite form of battle, sword fight. She ignited her speed blade and slasehd. A green beam cleaved the machine in half, which exploded seconds later. Another MT boosted to her and made a slice of his own, claiming her rockets before she could slice its right arm and leg off. Deathsythe followed suit, charging in using an overboost. One of the MTs fired its gatling gun at the advancing black AC, but he ignored the damage. He then body checked the MT into another one, which chose a bad time to fire its rockets. The two erupted in flames as the rocket detonated at point blank range, while Deathsythe turned to claim the head of another one. The duo continued to slice and dice their way through the ranks, occasionally firing their hand weapons into the further targets. Tanja even went as far as to activate her EO while she hacked away, taking down two to three enemies down at a time instead of one. Reaper fired his machine gun at medium range, but mostly used his throwing blade to conserve ammo from shooting.

Within minutes, the MTs were taken down. The entire base defence force was gone, but the two ACs that Mirage summoned had done the job. Both had some damages from the fighting. Tanja's rockets were destroyed from the one MT that got too close and her core was riddled with bullets, although the armor held up alot. Grim Reaper and his Deathsythe had only bullet wounds to deal with, for he had used his throwing sword enough to avoid true close quarters. There was a rather big dent in the left shoulder from where he had bodychecked several MTs at overboost speeds as well. The Skyeye scanned the surrounding area for additional targets, while Reaper checked the radar at the same time. "Hate to say this, girl, but they all got wasted." Tanja's RE/008 looked at his machine, before she checked her own built in radar.

"Seems so. Guess these MTs weren't as tough as they said they are." She surveyed the carnage they did. "Guess the mission is over."

"RAVENS!" Their radios spooked them a second, before they realized that it was their employer. "We have another contact, but it doesn't seem to be an MT."

The duo checked their radars again, with Deathsythe using a better scanner. "I detect nothing," the ace replied. Before any more words could be said, the two ACs detected incoming missiles. "Scratch that," he yelled as he dashed left and right to avoid the weapons. Tanja flew up while zig zagging, effectively dodging the shots. Then it showed up in her face, before slicing the agile unit's gun arm off. "TANJA!!!" Her unit fell from the sky, recovering just in time to prevent her AC from freezing while hitting the ground. She dashed backwards to avoid the new foe, who had dropped down in an attampt to slice her in half.

The AC was different from any other one ever encountered. This one used the standard Skyeye and Sto model parts mounted on a set of ORC legs and a rather light Marte arms. Attached to its left arm was a Moonlight blade, a machine gun in the right hand, a gernade launcher on the left back side, a new light laser cannon, and augmented armor plates on the shoulders. It held the reminants of one of the MTs, having commanded its missiles with precision using his hands. An emblem was seen on the left shoulder and armor attachment, which looked like a flaming skull. It was colored red and black with a deep green visor, which was staring down Hunter III. "You two are quite impressive to tackle Neo Core's MTs like that," the radio crackled, a deep menacing vioce clearly audible. "But, you will not interfere with their plans."

"Neo core..." Reaper reconized the name, the exact same corporation that Pilan was supposed to assult on Lunar. To make matters interesting, they were currently at war with Mars's corporations and had the upper hand. "Identify yourself."

"I don't see the reason for giving a couple of dead Ravens my name. If you must know the name of your deathbringer, the it is Oblivion." He immediately turned around and attacked Deathsythe, dropping the MT and shooting his machine gun. Reaper was unprepared for the attack, immediately loosing all of his radar functions as the Skyeye's antenna and his back radar were shot up by the machine gun. Deathsythe returned fire, but Oblivion had disappeared before he could even glance at the screen again.

"What the... No AC could be that fast." Reaper checked his damages real quick, while the female voice of the skyeye warned him that all scanners were down. He immediately turned his machine around searching for him.

"NICK! ABOVE YOU!" Reaper snapped his AC's head up, spotting Oblivion up there. He was flying above the ground, and his _gernade launcher _was armed.

"SHIIIITTT!!!" Deathsythe fired his machine gun without a care, trying to do some damage to the flying gernade armed AC. He started to dash backwards, only to get his missiles surgically removed by a fired gernade. He continued to return fire, taking Oblivion's attention away from Tanja. Her AC rose up into the air again, activating her EO energy guns as she rose. She locked on with her missiles as well and opened fire on Oblivion. He somehow saw the attack coming, evading the missiles and dodging the bursts with ease. Tanja started to plummet as her energy gauge neared zero from keeping her boosters hot while shooting the EO. Her AC took the gernade in the chest, sending her flying through the nearest building. Her systems started to heat up severely from the impact, and made her cockpit feel a little like an oven.

Reaper saw the damage done to Tanja and went berserk again. He put his thrusters to max burn and jettesoned the reminants of his radar and missiles. He flew up and fired his machine gun right at Oblivion, who took those hits like they were nothing. He pivoted in mid air and armed his laser cannon. Before he could accurately evade, Oblivion fired the laser into Deathsythe's core. The left side screens exploded as the laser barely missed the cockpit, the intense heat burned his arm rather badly as the glass fragments flew into him. His helmet protected his head, but his left arm was not in a position to be used from laser burn and cuts. Another explosion was heard as the laser penetrated the boosters and the radiator, causing the unit to fall back to earth. The AC's heat started to shoot through the roof as Reaper struggled to keep the machine in flight. Without the radiator, he couldn't actually do much of anything without raising the AC's heat. As he fell, he emptied the last of his machine gun rounds at Oblivion, who took mild damages as he evaded even more of the shots. The two landed onto the ground. Oblivion was able to engage his thrusters to control his decent, while Deathsythe slammed into the ground, creating a crater shaped like the unit and depressing the area around it.

Oblivion advanced onto the severely damaged Deathsythe, while Reaper tried to continue firing his now empty gun, dragging his mech out of the hole with the smashed in left arm. The cockpit felt like it was on fire, for there was no way for the AC to keep its own parts from heating it up. The armor outside started to glow a dull red with the heat, while a whole multitude of alarms went off within it. "Is that the best an Earth Ace has in battle." Oblivion stood in front of the machine. "Pitiful!" He fired his machine gun into the left arm, severing it from the joint and effectively removing his last weapon. Preoccupied with torturing the already useless AC, he didn't notice as Hunter got up and charged. Her green blade glowed with energy as she charged in and slashed. He barely dodged the attack, getting a nice cut on his mechanized shoulder. He turned and fired his laser at the unit, ripping half of the head apart on the left side and disabling the EO. "You can still fight, so you shall die first!" He armed his gernade and prepared to fire the death blow, before he heard a whine of an engine.

Reaper was royally pissed now, and he abandoned all reason as he struggled to get his AC up and activate the overboost. The cockpit was too hot, vapor was eminating off the armor, his wounds were burning. He didn't care, he wasn't about to let a teammate die with him. "Reaper! Stop it! You'll kill yourself doing that!" Tanja yelled. She already saw his plan, and it would result in his death. There was nothing she could do as the thrusters propelled the burning AC into Oblivion, who hadn't seen or anticipated the near suicidal move. The two impacted immediately, sending Oblivion through a small portion of the base as its balance was thrown completely off, while Deathsythe plowed into him hard enough to smash Oblivion's gun arm. It continued to speed forward, until the generator couldn't keep it up anymore and automatically shut it off. Deathsythe stood still on the ground, before collapsing forward. The armor's joints were starting to glow white as the rest of the armor turned a brighter shade of red, making it appear that the black core was going to burst with some kind of energy.

"Tan...ja....leave." She reconized his voice and looked at the core with what remained of Hunter's head. The picture was horrible, but she could make out the Skyeye's head facing her. The red 'eye' was phasing between dim and bright, occasionally turning completely off. She was just understanding what he was saying when she suddenly felt her AC being flung into another building. Oblivion was back on his feet, and had the moonlight drawn.

"He's dead already, and you shall now join him!" The red AC charged the diabled Hunter, blade set into ready mode. Before he could attack, his laser cannon exploded as it took a head on shot, the impact cancelling the blade's slash command. Oblivion turned around, and spotted a sleek blue AC crouched on one knee. Its red visor stared him in the eye, and its laser cannon propped on its round shoulder. It stood up, revealing the Zio Matrix logo on the arm. "So. The plus's daughter has arived. How inconvenient."

Zio Streak II lifted its Karasawa rifle, aiming for the core. "I will NOT allow you to take my friends," the AC shouted on the comms, "the same way you claimed my mother, you experimental FREAK!!!" Pilan fired a shot at Oblivion, who evaded the attack and hid behind another building. Tanja stared at the battle.

"You caught me at a bad time, Nine Breaker," Oblivion responded. "We'll settle this another time." The while of an overbooster could be heard as Oblivion flew into the air and jetted off. "Consider yourself lucky that she interfered, Raven."

Tanja was frozen in place, unable to believe what had happened. She was about to yell at Pilan when her AC interrupted. "Abnormal heat levels detected." She looked back at Deathsythe, whose armor had started to heat up to severe levels. Zeo Streak beat her to the downed AC, flipping it over and yanking the cockpit out of the core. The sleek hands then dug deeper and crushed the generator, which stopped the AC from overheating.

"Tanja!" She jumped when she heard Pilan yell her name. "Reaper is in very bad shape. Take him to the Nest immediately for medical treatment." Zeo Streak ran to Hunter, holding out its hand to the cockpit of the Mirage product. Tanja immediately opened her cockpit and got out to the remains of the crest manufactured cockpit. Opening the damaged door, she saw a sight that shocked her to no end. Nick was unconsious in his seat, the control sticks melted onto his pilot gloves. His left arm was a serious mess, for there were burned cuts and a severe laser burn all over it. There was also a big dent in the side of the helmet, where one of the screens had hit him when his AC toppled from the final overboost. The cockpit itself was nearly as hot as an active volcano, making her put her helmet back on before removing him from the decimated cockpit. She immediately got him into her AC and strapped him down, removing his helmet. Blood was seeping from the wound on his head, and his skin burned to the touch.

"Dammit Nick!" she whispered as she made sure he was secure before activating her AC. "Why the hell did you risk your life for my sake?" She turned the air conditioning on and started to boost as fast as she could to the Nest.

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Pilan watched as the blue Mirage AC boosted as far away as it could go, attempting to get to the nest with its precious cargo. She stood in front of the remains of Deathsythe VII, waiting for the entire unit to cool off before she even dared drag it back to base. She surveyed the area carefully, her Egret's visor taking in every single detail. "Oblivion, you haven't changed a bit." She looked at Deathsythe, spotting the one hit from a gernade. "Bastard human plus." She waited for half an hour for the black AC to cool. When it finally was cool enough she went to pick it up when she detected movement on her radar. She turned and aimed her Karasawa at the source. She saw a retreating blue AC heading in the direction she was looking, which almost was identacle to her current configuration.

"Is something wrong, Raven?" The Mirage employer looked at the mysterious martian AC that had stopped Oblivion from having his way.

"No, its nothing," she replied, scooping up the reminants. "If their mission was complete, send Tanja and Grim Reaper their rewards."

"And you?"

"I never accepted any contracts today. I'm just a rogue element that chose the right side at the right time." She oberboosted out of there, leaving the represenative to ponder what she said.

That is chapter 4. My bro is gonna kill me for what I did to his AC, but it will help move the story along. (note: Oblivion is just a random AC i thought up in my head. That is NOT my AC) I have also gotten copies of Nexus and Silent Line, which I have mission completes in. That doesn't mean I have all of their stuff, the hunt is on for the missing parts.

Bloody Kitsune was the last one to reply, but I honestly need her to explain what she meant in her review. Hope to hear from her and someone else before chapter 5 comes up. Till then.


	6. Chapter 5: Thoughts

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 5: Thoughts

"ck?......ick?....NICK?" The young man opened his eyes very slowly, the light above him blinding. "Thank god!!" Nick started to sit himself up, but was hard pressed due to his left arm creating some rather severe pain. He managed and looked at his arm, noticing it was covered in bandages.

"Nick?" He turned to the source of the voice, spotting Tanja at his side. Her hair was a complete mess, and it appeared that she was crying not too long ago.

"tanja," he said, but his body wouldn't allow him to speak at a normal tone. He could only whisper right now. He looked around the area, knowing full well this wasn't his room or cockpit. "where am i?"

Tanja looked at him. "Infirmary. You've been asleep for three days." She managed to break out one of her comforting smiles, a few more tears started to appear in her eyes. "I could have sworn that you had died."

"died?" His memory suddenly hit him. The mission Mirage assigned them, the MTs, Oblivion. It all was starting to come back, but was hazy at the point when the laser hit his core. His body started to get back into its routine, his voice was returning. "what happened?" he asked, with each word sounding a little stronger.

"We damn near got our asses sent to hell," she replied. "You ended up going berserk again, and you damn near lost your life because of it." She shifted a little closer. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your AC got totaled out there. What's the last thing you remember?"

He looked at Tanja. 'My AC, totaled.' "His laser hit me. I recall he killed my radar and destroyed the missiles, then his laser hit me." 'Why am I having a hard time remembering this.'

Tanja saw the look on his face, and her smile disappeared. "Well, that laser took out your radiator and primary boosters. Every move you made heated up your AC uncontrollably. You ran out of ammo, you lost your sword arm, you overboosted into that bastard and smashed him through a building with your momentum." She turned to the wall. "We would never have made it if Pilan didn't interfere." He followed her eyes, noticing the Martian sitting in a chair across from the room. She was napping at the moment, not even aware that he was awake.

"What happened to you and Deathsythe?"

"I got through with a badly damaged head and missing arm, nothing as serious as your AC." She looked him in the eyes again. "That Oblivion guy made sure that Deathsythe could never fight again. The joints were melting by time Pilan drove him off. She had to tear your core open in order to get your cockpit out of there. Your lucky to be alive right now."

Nick was still digesting the part that his AC was practically molten slag when she said the last part. "Lucky? How?!?"

"Your cockpit was over 500 degrees in there, while your AC's armor was just over 2000," she replied. "Add to that the bonk on the head, which your helmet barely managed to protect, and the burned cuts on your arm. Your lucky that you didn't burn alive in there." He just sat there, staring at his bandaged arm, now conscious of the fact that he had some on his head as well. He couldn't believe what had happened. Now his brain was working right, allowing him to remember how severe his beating was. He wasn't conscious when that screen smashed him in the head when he plowed through the building. His wounded arm throbbed with pain, which he ignored as he clenched his fist.

"Oblivion is going to pay for what he did!"

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Outside of his hospital room, the members of teams Doom and Breaker peeked in. So far, neither Tanja or Reaper had noticed them. Especially Reaper, who was just waking up. "How long has she been there?" Chris asked.

Sara was the one to respond. "Ever since she returned with your fearless leader literally in her arms. Her arm was soaked with his blood."

"Haven't heard of any Raven caring so much for another one." He commented, earning him glares from his three friends. "What?"

"Isn't it obvious, you baffoon." Eddy whispered. "You have to be completely blind not to notice!"

"Notice what?"

Linda grabbed him by the shirt. "Either you are blind or just plain stupid. Ever wonder why she keeps meeting him, asking when she can battle him again?"

"Because she wants her title back, that's.."

"You dolt," Linda hissed. "She could care less about the damned ranking. She had enough publicity with killing the Controller." She shook him. "She likes him, moreso than she would ever admit. Even to her own team." With unknown strength, the nimble girl thrusted Chris into a wall five feet away. She turned back in time to hear Tanja mutter something about having their asses kicked.

IT finally dawned on Chris. "She LOVES him?" He stared a little dumbfounded at the trio. "There is no way that bitch loves him. I just can't..." Sara shut him up nice and quick, a dent noticeable on the opposite wall in the shape of a human being.

"Remind me never to piss you off," Eddy said, watching the duo in there chatting. "Dammit. Why don't they do something interesting?"

"In an infirmary? They got cameras all over the place in there, keeping an eye on every patient." Linda shook her head, unable to believe how smart Ed is, yet how thick. "She doesn't even know how he truly feels about her. How do you think I'd feel if I kissed you out of love, yet you don't see it as such?"

"I guess you'd be...wait a minute." Linda turned towards him questionably. She didn't expect him to stop in mid response. "What do you mean if you kissed me out of love?"

"What??" Her eyes widened in surprise, a light blush visible on her face. "I..I meant.... rhetorically speaking. That's all..."

"Didn't sound that way to me." Chris was sent deeper into his dent as both Eddy and Linda hit him.

"Ya know," Sara thought, "they actually do make a great couple." She giggled to herself as she turned back to the conversation, which just passed the threat to Oblivion.

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"Do you have any idea how lucky BOTH of you are to be alive?" Nick and Tanja looked at Pilan, who had just woken up. "That guy is nothing like anyone that you guys have ever battled before."

"What do you mean?" Nick demanded.

"Pilan had said on the intercom that he was some sort of experimental freak." Tanja mentioned.

"Darn right about that," Pilan stated in a rather harsh tone. "He's one of those Ravens that underwent some of Murakumo's human experimentation projects."

"Murakumo?" the two said in union. They looked at each other in amazement. Murakumo was one of the first Armored Core developer corporations, whose technology is known to all the corporations. Mirage and Zio Matrix are the primary redevelopers of their technology, whereas Emeraude and Crest are based on the old Chrome models. Murakumo, however, had its own dark secret. A project which was used to augment humans and Ravens, although most of the subjects became unstable and insane from the procedure. "You can't mean the 'Human Plus Project!'" they said in union again.

"So you know about it." She was emotionless in her chat. Tanja knew it had to have something to do with Oblivion. "He's one of them, and they are virtually unstoppable. Only another Human Plus could actually defeat one. If I showed up a few seconds later, neither one of you would have survived." She got up and started to leave.

"Pilan." She stopped and turned to Tanja. "I have a feeling he killed one of your parents. I can't help but think you have a grudge against him."

"Your right." Pilan turned around, tears were in her eyes. "That bastard killed my mother when I was eight! I almost got killed during that attack as well. I can never forget what he looks like, even if he updates his AC with the most recent parts!" She stood still as a silent tear escaped her eye. "Let's see you not hold a grudge against a murderer for ten years. Hundreds of colonists died when he attacked, Ravens and civilians alike. My mother DIED protecting them!!" She turned and was about to leave when Tanja spoke once more.

"Oblivion said the plus's daughter. Was she no different from him in that respect, although her actions were different?" Tanja fumbled with the last words. "Does that make you a plus as well?"

Pilan glared at the duo. "I wouldn't know!" She turned and started leaving. "You may want to make sure no one listens in on you in the future. Four Ravens were listening to us ever since you awoke." Ed, Linda, Sara, and Chris cringed when they realized they were found out and bolted as far from the room as possible. Pilan left the room and caught up to the four with ease. "And you four better not breathe a WORD as to what was talked about in there. That is, if your lives are that importaint to you."

Nick and Tanja saw as Pilan left. "That is a touchy subject for her," Nick said. "Her mother was involved in the colony massacre from ten years ago, defending the last five colonies with her life." He looked at Tanja. "Records state that her cockpit was destroyed, very much the same way we lost Raven a few days ago."

Tanja nodded in understanding. "Are you well enough to stand?"

"I could try. What for?"

Tanja grinned. "Your AC may be totaled, with the Skyeye part and Sol blade all that is salvagible. Mirage decided to pay you alot extra for trying to hold off Oblivion, so that you could purchase new parts to build yourself a brand new AC." She nudged his left arm lightly, so that it wouldn't hurt. "Knowing you, I doubt that you'll want to sit on your ass for the rest of your life at some half baked job."

Nick shifted his feet over the bedside and tried to get up. He almost lost his balance, but Tanja managed to support them. "How do I know that you won't let me fall again?"

"Huh?"

"I'm not in top form right now. The ace needs to watch his surroundings, remember." The two smiled and laughed a little as they made their way to the shop, with Tanja supporting her friend.

"I think we can ignore that ace stuff for now."

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"Ya see that structure over there?" Destructor advanced up to Red Death, seeing what Doom was talking about. The red Egret head faced the green Nighteye. "That," Doom stated from within Red Death, "is where their planetary defence cannons are."

"Those have to be their only way of defending from an enemy attack force like ours," Destructor returned. "If we can cripple that, we actually stand a chance and can guarentee reinforcements."

"I recommend we hid low until we can be assured backup, then we can take those out while they are training their guns on them."

"I'd have to agree with Doom there, Destructor," Dark resoponded from home base. "If we raise a ruckous too soon, we will risk being spotted. And taking the turrents down now would only have them rebuild it with a stiff defence."

Destructor led Doom back to base. "Taking that down is top priority when the time comes. Right now, we need a way to lure their defenders away from the intended target."

"I got an idea, boss," Dark said. "We got plenty of ammo for our weapons here, and I saw a bunch of targets that we can hit that are a good distance away from their turrents. Unfortunately, we can only use one AC, otherwise they will have very strict security."

"What is the plan, then?"

"I have good armor, speed, and some nasty weapons I can use for base razing. If I can hit them in an order that makes them believe there is only one AC heading in one direction, they may waste their security forces for a possible next target and fail to notice the main plan." He stopped for breathe. "For it to work flawlessly, I have to leave their bases in the direction of the next base, then zoom back here without being noticed."

"A little too risky, Midnight. But it's better than sitting on your ass." Destructor thought carefully. "If your positive you can pull it off, then do it. Your job starts tomorrow, but stay out of sight when you leave."

"No problem. The bases are on the dark side, while we're on a border. I didn't call this AC Midnight for nothing."

"Allright, you get to work tomorrow. Meantime, lets get some hidden defences set up over here."

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After ten minutes of limping through the Nest, with no one but Tanja helping him out, Nick finally made it to the garage. He had to endure many ravens staring at him, for he was a currently beaten up and AC less ace. Now he had to pass the empty garage to get to the AC shop, where he could use the credits Mirage gave him to purchase a brand new AC. They walked and limped past Nick's stall, which had the ace motion Tanja to stop. She did and realized why, he wanted to see how badly beaten up Deathsythe VII was. They walked into his stall and looked at the once magnificent AC, now barely holding together even with the supports surrounding it.

He looked at the severity of the damage. His legs were badly burned from overusing the boosters, and some bullets had marked the entire unit. The left arm was gone, shot off at the elbow. He further examined his AC, spotting the most damage on his units core. He barely saw the mark that was made by the laser cannon that destroyed most of his cooling systems and his primary boosters. There was also a big hole in the center, where Pilan had rammed her ACs arms in to rip his cockpit out before the heat could harm him much more than it already had. The skyeye was pointed down, half concealing the heat damaged camera lens. There was another mark where the antenna was, now seared completely off by Oblivion. The AC looked like hell, and all of its joints had sagged and melted together but to the extreme heat it had generated from the battle.

Nick clenched his fist, ignoring the pain. Very few people knew that his older brother had actually helped in assembling his AC, before acceping a mission he never returned from. Deathsythe VII was actually a symbol to Nick in more ways than one. It stood for his acceptance as a Raven, the sacrifices and battles he faced to earn this right, the one machine that carried the souls of two people within it as he battled. Now that symbol was retired and broken beyond conventional repair.

"Nick, I'm sure that you will be able to buy the parts necessary to rebuild your..."

"No," he said softly. "Rebuilding it would insult my AC." Tanja looked at him. "Look at it. It just looks like it wants revenge for what happened to it, yet it knows that it can't fight anymore. I know how it feels, and I just can't bare to replace it with a cheap imitation." He looked at her. "Plus, replacing it would just insult the one who helped me build it." He grasped onto her shoulder and they continued on to the shop.

"Who helped you? Your brother?"

Nick glared at her. "How do you even know I have a brother?"

"I checked your file when you past your exam. Your brother was the one that was my only rival, until his disappearance and you defeating me." Tanja then smiled. "Besides, my AC didn't look much different from Deathsythe when I started, because he recommended the best parts for me to use while I was a rookie."

"You too, eh?" Nick chuckled. "Your AC is now completely different from how you say it was. But, why did he help develop your unit as well as mine?"

"I asked him why he helped me myself." She looked at him seriously. "He said that he had a brother about my age trying to be a Raven, so he wanted to help me so he could help you when you came in." She looked away briefly. "He was right, and I know he was watching you as an MT pilot. He even asked me to keep an eye on you."

"He did?!"

"That mission before you became a raven, I was supposed to be the raven you guys assisted. I would have been there, but Payload's buddy tried to stop me." She looked sad. "If I had finished him off sooner, you probably would have your best friend..."

"Don't finish that sentence." Nick glared at her, while she looked back at him in surprise. "Unexpected things happen in a battlefield. For all we know, even your assistance wouldn't have saved him. I'd rather not speak any further on this subject, Tanja."

"Hey!" The duo jumped a second as they turned to the one that spoke to them. It was Greg, the shop keeper. His brown eyes stared at the two as he scratched his greying hair. Now going on sixty, he is too old to be piloting an AC, being a former Raven. His old Emeraude AC stood in the back of the shop, a symbol that represented who he once was. "Are ya youngings gonna stand and chat, or are ya gonna buy me parts?"

The duo blushed. "Sorry, Twilight," they said in union. "We didn't realize we were at the shop already," Nick hasily added.

"Hey, don call me by me ol' raven name, youngster," Greg said, glaring at the two. "Ya couple should know that me mercinary days er long gon." He then looked at the two. "Are ya a couple?"

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!?" they yelled in union.

"Never min, never min!" He waved his hands in a way that showed he didn't mean any harm by the question. "Curiousity killed da kitty, after all. SOh, wat ya looken fer?"

"I'm buying parts to assemble a new AC," Nick said simply.

Greg looked at Nick again. "Ah, I remember ya. Yup, ye were here with ya bro ova a yer ago, methink. Hey, sorry bout yer AC. Heard bout that bastard martian shit head messing it all up. Yessir, that AC is as much min as it is yers, considerin I sold ya those parts. So, wattle it be?"

The duo had stared at him as he remembered all that. "I'm just gonna look around a bit, Greg. I want to find some good parts to use for my AC."

"Round back, as usual. Call me wen yer ready. And stay outta me Anchient, er else yull have a cest on yer leg as well." The duo laughed nervously. Anchient was the Emeraude AC in the back, fashioned after a legendary AC pilot from the Murakumo era. Greg may be retired, but he hated it when kids mess around with his old AC. There were rumors that he shot some raven's left testacle off for starting it up while his back was turned. But they are only rumors, right?

They both started to check out the wide selection of AC parts that were available. Before they even made it into the shop area, they saw a sign on the wall. "Notice: New and Experimental Crest parts are now available!" Nick whispered. "Guess I'll check those out." They started off for the cores, checking every one. Greg was loaded, having STOs, MX/02s, ORCAs, IKS, and many others. Nick then touched a pad and started skimming through the various cores, until he came across a new Crest model. It was teh CCL-02-E1, Crest's answer to the popular Mirage EO cores. The part was designed for speed, as indicated by the unnatural sleek design rarely associated to a Crest product. This part was not only light, but featured a solid machine gun round EO system. It didn't use energy to fire, but it couldn't be replenished unless a supply truck is out there. Nick grinned as he decided to remember the model number, then asked Tanja to help him to the heads. The console couldn't be used to analyze the heads, for it was only programmed to keep a record of all the cores.

They went from section to section, Nick starting to write down the parts that interested him for his AC. He decided on the same generator, radiator, FCS, and Fleet boosters that Deathsythe had used, for they were the only parts that he was used to and that were reliable to him. He also chose to use the MWG-MG-1000 machine gun once again, considering that he was better at using that than the other models. He also picked out a set of CWM-M36/4 medium missiles, a brand new MRL-MM/011 radar part, and lucked out on finding two MLB-Moonlight blades. Tanja convinced him to get one of the blades and the missiles, while he stuck to the radar and gun. He then chose to go with the same SOL arms as before, but then picked out the new CLM-55-RVE legs by Tanja's recommendation and a CHD-MISTEYE part that caught his eye to round it off.

They were now in the option parts section, trying to get new pieces. All of Nick's option parts were in Deathsythe when it was attacked, and are now sorta stuck in the core for good, meaning he needs to get new ones. He was shifting through the optional parts when his eye caught sight of an odd entry. He selected it and gasped. "NO WAY!!! Greg got his hands on an OP/INTENSIFY??" Nick grinned. "Damn, he's good."

"Those things aren't all that great," Tanja commented. "Sure, it makes you like a Human Plus, but it also weakens your AC. Besides, mine is complete, but doesn't handle overweighting like the rumors say it does."

"Who cares? I'd be able to use my laser cannon on that Oblivion asshole the next time I see him." Shrugging, Tanja helped Nick back to the desk. Greg was waiting for them, and was promply told not to ask if they were a couple. He then was given the list of parts that Nick wanted for his new AC, shortly followed by a few choice selections for Tanja. Knowing it would take a full day before his unit was finished, he left Greg with the paint schematic and the name of the new AC before leaving.

"What did you get, Tanja?" Nick asked.

"I just got that second Moonlight that we found as well as that Karasawa rifle you didn't want."

"I didn't pick it because it would just weigh me down, as it will do to you!"

"Ah well, I can handle myself with energy equipment." She smiled and looked at Nick. "So, what are you gonna call it?" Tanja asked.

"I'm calling it 'Deathsythe VIII.'"

Tanja frowned. "I thought you said that using that name would insult your former AC," she said in a teasing voice.

"I did, but only if I had chosen to rebuild it. This is just its sucessor until I personally make sure that Deathsythe VII flies again. Besides," he looked at Tanja and grinned, "it pretty much has only one person's soul riding within it aside from mine."

"Oh really." She looked at him. "And whose is it?"

"The one that helped design her." The duo grinned and continued on, virtually aware of the other's affection.

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Greg watched as the duo left his shop. 'I swer, they look like such a great couple,' he thought, grinning at the thought. 'Well, ACs donbuild themselves,' he thought as he got up and started to the assembly bay. While entering, he passed a person that was sitting at the door.

"Did he get the part?"

"He wes estatic about findin it. I woulda gave him it anyways if he didn." Greg looked at the person at the door, who was none other than Pilan. "Why did ya wan him ta take that, anyways?"

"Just a precaution, uncle. In case he comes across Oblivion again and I'm not around. He bares as much a grudge as I do."

"Guess so."

"Thanks for handling my request."

"Any thin fer my niece," he said, starting up the assembly system as Pilan left the shop.

WHooot. There's chapter 5, sorry if there is no action. That's because of last chapter's battle. Have played and recently beat Silent Line, thus the reason I'm adding some Silent Line parts to the list. Nexus is also great, although the booster heat mechanic was as deadly as Genobee and 9 Ball.

And now, words to the two reviewers from chapter 4.

Bloody Kitsune: apologies. just know too many kitsunes with girls on the other end. and i hope you realize that a main character had his AC shredded up. Ah well, he'll be back when Deathsythe VIII is done.

Xardion: couldn't have thought that I'd fine someone who would read all the chapters before reviewing. good to have you aboard, and this fic won't die (as long as i get at least one review per chapter, just to know someone is still reading) Expect the next chapter real soon.


	7. Chapter 6: Storm

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 6: Storm

A beeping sound was heard in team doom's room just before the crack of dawn. Nick groggily woke up to the sound, his head pounding. 'Dammit, my head. What the hell..' He looked at his computer, noticing he was getting a communication from the shop. 'Ol' Greg? What's he...oh yeah...my new AC.' He shifted himself up and looked at the screen close to his bed. "Accept communication." The screen turned white, then revealed the face of Greg, the shopkeeper in his shop.

"Mornin' Reaper." He then notices the way he looked. "Apologies, did I wake ya?"

"Yeah, with a major headache." He rubbed his temples. "What's goin on?"

"Jest lettin ya kno that yer AC, Deathsythe VIII, is all ready fer combat. Pick 'er up when yer ready." He then looked at the screen and his eyes widened. "Holy shit! Seems ya wer busy last night. Jest come down wen yer done f(#n' around." He turned to the side to turn the screen off, muttering something about a couple. Nick lifted an eyebrow, a little too groggy to figure out what the hell he meant. All he knew was that he never drops F bombs under normal circumstances.

' "When your done f(#n' around?"' he thought, turning to the other side of his bed to get out. 'What did he mean by...eh?' He stopped turning over and looked at his bed side, which was obstructed by someone. This someone had blue hair and currently was content with sleep. He looked at the person, trying to figure out who it was and what they were doing in his bed. He groggily moved to get a better look at the person's face, finally recognizing who it was. 'Tanja....' His mind kicked into high gear within twenty seconds as he processed what he was seeing, with the end result being that his eyes widened with pure surprise and shock. "HOLY SHIT!!!!!"

"WHA....." Tanja woke up to his racket, looking at him square in the eye. Her eyes widened as well, and both ravens moved to their 'sides' of the bed.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" they yelled at the same time. Both realized the situation easily after they had yelled at each other. They were both in Nick's room and in the same bed. Both of them were in only their underwear, although Tanja was missing her bra at the moment. She covered her front instinctively with his blankets, both of them blushing. Nick stuck up a hand in a stop like position while his other touched his head, fighting off a sudden urge and a sudden blast of pain.

"Nick..."

"Tanja, what the hell happened?"

She blinked several times. "You don't remember?" Nick shook his head. "All I remember is that we ate together after leaving the shop and had a few drinks. Apparently, you aren't able to hold your liquor all too well."

"I was _drinking_?"

"Yup. You started to go all whoozy and stuff before I decided you should go back to your room." She stopped to think a second. "I brought you back here, but the door wouldn't let me leave."

"What?!?" Nick jumped out of bed and hopped to the door as he grabbed and tried to put on a pair of pants on the move. He got to the door and pressed the control to open it. It didn't respond. He tried again, but it responded the same way as before. He glared at the console, noticing a message on the door. 'Locked from outside??' He looked up and scanned his room. Tanja walked into the room a few seconds later, already getting her shirt on while her pants had yet to be put on properly. "Where's Chris and Eddy?"

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'They should be waking up anytime now,' Chris thought to himself. 'They've had the room all to themselves for the entire night. There's no way he could have passed up this opportunity, that sex starved stooge.' He looked around him. 'Pity my plan had one fatal flaw...'

flashback: Last night

Eddy was already out like a light. 'Man, that guy can't hold his liquor,' Chris thought as he waited at the dark corner of the hall for Nick to return. 'I know that was him with Tanja at that restaurant, and they never let a raven out of there without them having at least one cup of booze. Knowing her, they probably drank that strong stuff.' Just upon finishing that thought, he saw the duo on their way back. Nick was supported by Tanja due to his drunken state, having been able to walk on his own again only minutes before entering the restaurant. 'Speak of the reaper, there they are.' He watched as she opened the door to his room and entered with the wasted raven. When the door closed, he rushed to the outer console and activated the outer lock mechanism, sealing the door and preventing anyone from being able to exit. 'He he he. He won't be able to resist at all,' he thought, then returned to the corner to retrieve Eddy.

He hoisted his buddy up and supported his weight and prepared to call it a night, when a thought suddenly struck him. 'Shit, we all sleep in that room! Dammit, now where are we gonna rest?' He heard the giggling from down the hall, recognizing it as Sara. She and Linda were walking down the hall and were about to enter their room when they noticed Chris standing dumbfounded in front of his door.

"Hey Devil," she said above a whisper, for it was rather late at night and she wasn't about to wake the sleepy neighbors. "What are you doing out here?"

He thought of a response quickly. "That damned Reaper locked the door on us. I can't get in there without him opening it from the inside. Last I saw, he was pissed drunk before entering."

"Damn. Are you saying you don't have a place for the night?"

"Damn right. Can you help me and Eddy here out?"

The girls looked at each other, then looked inside. "Guess its all right. Tanja's still not in yet. Haven't seen her since the hospital."

"Yeah, I saw her out in the city," he hastily added. "Mentioned something about going on a mission for the night."

end flashback

His exaggerated truths had succeeded in granting both Eddy and himself a place to stay. He looked at Eddy, who was covered by Linda. She was worried when she found out he was passed out drunk. 'Those two probably would make as good a couple as Nick and Jen,' he thought, before he heard a ruckus out on the other side of the hall. That noise woke Sara up.

"What the hell...does anyone care that people are still trying to sleep!?!" She tried to block out the noise with her pillow, only to hear a person's voice instead.

"Nick, chill out will you?" Sara looked at the wall, swearing she heard the muffled voice of her team leader out there. "I'll get this damn door open in a minute."

"Tanja??" Another smash was heard as something connected with a door, followed by several more. Finally, a yell of rage was heard and an ear splitting crash resulted in the sound of severely bent metal. "What the...." That final sound woke up Linda and Eddy. The two stared at each other, blushed, then reacted the same way Nick and Tanja had only minutes before.

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"Jeese, Nick. Why not just wake up the whole nest." She looked at the remains of the door, another victim to his berserk state. His bad hand was still bandaged up, but it now was red around the knuckles.

"You were taking too long, and I would like to know where Eddy and Chris are! I've got a bone to pick with them." His eyes scanned the area, a stare that could kill checked every nook and cranny of the hall. Ravens poked their heads out to check, only to retreat if Nick looked their way.

"Whatever. I'm gonna wake the team, see if they saw those two." She opened the door to her room, only to pause in the doorway at the sight before her. Sara was just getting out of bed and was about to check the racket before the door was opened. Her eyes opened wide when she saw her leader barge in. Tanja saw in one corner of the room Chris, apparently cringing from the yelling he heard outside. Eddy and Linda were at another corner, both trying to keep a distance between them and too focused on trying to supress their embarassments to even notice Tanja's return. "Scratch that, Reaper. I think I found your team." Daggers were now shooting out of her eyes as well.

Nick arrived at the door and glared at his teammates. Eddy was just confused as to what was going on, while Chris knew full well that his excuse to the Breakers had just expired. "What the HELL are you two doing in here!!!" The tone of his voice made it clear that it wasn't a question, and he is royally pissed off.

Linda looked up and actually noticed Nick and Tanja finally, the color on her face drained immediately because of the identacle looks of sheer anger that they both wore. Sara cleared her throat. "They claimed that you locked them out in a drunken stupor." She then turned to Tanja. "So, how'd the mission go?"

"LOCKED THEM OUT IN A DRUNKED STUPOR!!!" they yelled at the same time.

"I WAS TOO DRUNK TO EVEN MOVE LAST NIGHT! TANJA HAD TO HELP ME INTO BED BECAUSE OF HOW DRUNK I WAS!!!"

"WHAT MISSION? I WAS LOCKED IN WITH NICK ALL NIGHT!!!!!" They yelled their sentences at the same time, but it was quite evident to Sara and Linda that they were had. Chris had already turned paler than a ghost and Eddy was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on. All eyes turned to Eddy and Chris.

"Huh?" Eddy noticed four pissed off Ravens looking in his direction. "Don't look at me. I don't remember a thing past twenty hundred hours." He rubbed his head. "Feel like a damned wall hit my head," he muttered.

Linda turned to the side. "I'll vouch for him, guys. He was out like a light when we saw Chris and Eddy outside in the hall." She then looked back at him, a light blush starting to creep back. "Plus, the level of booze on his body was enough to knock me out just by being nearby trying to help."

"I WAS DRUNK???" Now all eyes were on Chris alone. Before another word was said, Pilan ran into the room. She stopped and surveyed the room for a second.

"Your all here already?" she asked, clearly out of breath.

Tanja turned around. "Pilan, where were you this time?"

"In Zeo Streak II's cockpit again, but now isn't the time to know what I was doing all night!" She dashed towards the tv and turned it on. She then took a disk out of her breast pocket and loaded it into the player system. All eyes turned to the screen, while Chris breathed a temporary sigh of relief. A reporter appeared on the screen and started to speak about a topic, but only Pilan understood what he was saying. "OOPS! Forgot it is in Martian." She tapped a few buttons and restarted the disk. The reporter returned and started speaking.

"_Tonight's topic: Neo Core against corporations. Neo Core, after decimating the Martian strike force from Lunar orbit, has actively made its first move known. The new corporation send over two hundred MT units to earth, intending to assult the earth based corporations of Mirage, Kiseragi, and Crest. Their attempt at an assult, however, was cut short when a mysterious weapon of unknown origion and mysterious ACs wiped out most of the force upon landing, and further taken out by hired Ravens of Global Cortex._"

"Pause clip," Tanja said, freezing the report. "Neo Core MTs." She turned to Nick. "That's what Oblivion said we defeated before attacking us."

Nick nodded, looking at the screen. "And its no wonder they were almost wiped out. Their LZ was at the border of the Silent Line. You can't even expect a cat to go in there and leave undercooked. Is that all you wanted to show us?" Pilan shook her head and continued the disk.

"_In light of these events, Neo Core is sending a larger strike force to earth. Among them is rumored to be the same Raven responsible for the Mars Colonial Massacre. Their intended target is anyone's guess._" The clip ended, and most of the Ravens in that room were kind of speechless.

"MTs? They are no match for Ravens," Chris muttered, earning him stares from everyone in the room.

"Those MTs took alot out of Nick and me, and I bet that raven is the same one that damn near killed the two of us with ease." Tanja could easily recall the MT fight. They were as weak as any other, but sure as hell weren't pushovers.

"That's not all," Pilan said. The six ravens looked at the Martian, waiting for an explination. "That clip is two days old. Neo Core's forces are most likely on planet already. Considering the threats each corporation actually pose, I think that Global Cortex is the intended target of this attack." The ravens just glared at her.

"Unlikely," Eddy stated. "Global Cortex isn't plotted on any map and is impossible to locate without the proper gear..."

"Which that one Raven has. All the damned ACs can track the nests, its standard issue." Pilan was slightly irritated.

"Look, say that your right," Sara started. "The Cortex has all sorts of equipment that can stop an assulting enemy in its tracks, and we happen to be a distance underground. These measures help protect it and the nearby civilian population." She got up and walked out the door. "If you ask me, this means nothing." Linda, Eddy, and Chris looked at Pilan, then got up and left themselves. That left Tanja, Pilan, and Nick in the room. She looked at Nick, who got up himself as he made his leave.

"You don't believe me either?" She asked in a harsh tone.

"No," he responded, "I'm just getting my dirty clothes changed, then picking up my AC. I am NOT going to let a group like that catch me with my pants down."

Tanja looked at Pilan. "If you feel that we will be attacked, you should report it to Lians. I'll be with Nick, in case something does come up." With those words said, she went to her bathroom to change into her clothes.

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Nick was in the new cockpit of Deathsythe VIII within fifteen minutes. He had gone into his room to shower and change into his Raven uniform, then went straight for the shop. Greg was waiting for him and directed him into the new AC. He only bothered to mention the new functions that this Deathsythe had that Nick was unfamiliar with, otherwise it was the same as Deathsythe VII. He flipped the switches on his console, activating the varoious systems within the core. The generators kicked on, followed by the radiator's activation and the activation of the main system. The sub-systems followed suit, until the AC was powered up. He inserted his new optional part into the side console and activated it as the AC did a self diagnostic.

"AC ready. Normal Mode is currently engaged," the female voice of the AC said. It may be the Misteye variation, but it sounded almost identacle to the Skyeye. "Warning, Battle Mode cannot be engaged. Weapon systems cannot be located."

Nick frowned, then opened his speakers so Greg could hear. "Hey, old man. Where's the weapons?"

"Ah sheet. Don' tell meh yer gonna get 'er trashed already." He shook his head. "Hang on." He pressed a few controls, which activated the assembly system. He then selected the three weapons that Nick did purchase and attached them to his core. Nick checked his systems, noticing that his computer had reconized the weapons installed.

"Could I also purchase one of your light laser cannons and attach it to my AC."

"No problem," Greg replied, commanding his equipment to search for his requested piece and install it while he deducted a few more credits from Nick's account. The weapon was installed within a minute. "Okee, yer all set. Openin' the doors. Now get outta here." Once the doors were opened completely, the new AC boosted out and headed for the lift.

Once he got there, he was greeted by Hunter III. It now featured a newer and lighter arm part, the HADRO, and the new RVE legs that Deathsythe VIII now featured. Her boosters were exchanged and so were all of her weapons excluding her medium missiles. She now features a longer ranged blade called the HALBERT, her new KARASAWA, and a lighter small rocket launcher with thirty rounds. The Global Cortex emblem was still visible on her arm. "I like your new AC, Reaper."

"I like what you did to yours," Nick commented, "but your putting your energy reserves to their limit."

"I told you not to worry about it." The two ACs entered the lift and sat comfortably in their cockpits as the lift brought them up. "Want to know something?"

"What?"

"Your brother said the exact same thing when I went for this core model and my old laser rifle. That definately makes you both related." Nick frowned at his screen. "Sure as hell can't blame you. All of this stuff is hard to keep charged, even with my generator. Ah well, I'll just fight in ways that keep my levels charged anyway."

"Pray those items don't kill you." The door opened and the two ACs walked outside. Nick paused for a minute and scanned the area, using his sensors and his eyes to find the targets. Hunter III followed suit, the red lights on the RE/008 flashing as another radar pulse was emitted. Nick turned his attention from Tanja to his radar, which suddenly lit up with targets. He looked up, noticing the MTs shutting down their thrusters and coming down. "Shit! Heads up, use your missiles and rockets. I would save the laser for the Raven."

"No shit, sherlock!" The two ACs opened fire on the incoming battallion, missiles, bullets, and plasma rounds flying into the army. Several MTs blew up, but most of them flew to the left or right to avoid estensive damage. Once they landed, the two engaged their boosters and charged in, firing rockets and EOs into the ranks as they entered close quarters. Nick fired his machine gun at point blank range on several MTs, then lit up his Moonlight to slice several in half. He charged another one, which retaliated by flying over him and firing a missile from above. Nick got sprayed with dirt from the near miss of the missile and turned sharply, cutting several MTs down in an instant. He yelled in agitation as he fired bullets into its core, tearing it apart.

He paused for a second and noticed that there was no pilot in his kill, for the hole went through the cockpit and revealed a lack of flesh. "AI units??" His thoughts were shattered as another MT rammed him from the side, firing its rifle at point blank range. He activated his EO, which swiveled to his left and blasted the target with a fast stream of bullets as he tried to regain balance. "Thank god for solid EOs!" he yelled as he turned and fired some more missiles.

"Shit! There are so many of them. Not even we can hold them off forever!" Tanja yelled on her comm, firing rockets and EO bursts at anything hostile that got too close. She activated her HALBERT and took several enemies down at once with the long blade. But she was right, there are too many MTs to fight with only two ACs. Nick cut another one down when he recieved a missile warning.

"Get in the air if you want to live," a deep voice said. The two heeded those words and flew into the air. When they looked down, they witnessed as about fourty MTs were hit by the missiles, a good thirty percent taken down while the others shrugged it off with some damage. They turned in time to spot a green AC and a black one already on the field. The big green one was well armored and equipped with dual pursuit missiles with interlocking missile systems, further augmented with a howitzer and a shotgun. The other AC was lighter in design, but equipped with a rifle, gernade launcher, chain gun, and blade. "Neo Core's not getting away with attacking the Nest."

"Royal Mist?!?"

"ACE!!!!"

"Damn right," Ace replied, firing a gernade into the enemy ranks, taking a few out with an impressive explosions. "Now lets fight like the aces we really are." The two units charged in and fired any weapon they could as they advanced. After their arrival, several more ravens poured out and attacked the MTs. Among them were Devil's Painbringer tank, Demon's repaired Speed Demon, Sprint's now legged Quik Death, and a seriously overhauled legged Hell Bringer. They poured fire into the endless stream of enemies, taking them down in their most perferred battle styles. Even the Cortex MT and AC militia arrived and added to the firepower. Aside form all this, Ravens and fellow pilots were falling to Neo Core's forces, even as the assult force started to dwindle in numbers.

During the fighting, a blue AC with a sleek design overboosted throught the ranks, shooting both Neo Core forces and at the Cortex defenders. This unit passed them all, causing quite a number to the defenders to fall as it shot its way into the primary elevator. It destroyed the elevator and dropped down into the depths of Layered. "Defenders, an unidentified AC has penetrated your defence line."

Hunter III glanced back as she shot another MT's chest with a rocket, noticing the after effects of the AC's handiwork. "I'm on it." She jumped up to evade further battle with the MTs and made a mad dash for the elevator. A few MTs tried to stop the retreating AC, only to be engaged by her teammates and fellow ravens as they helped her. Nick thrusted in reverse and fired on a squad advancing on his position when his AC gave him a warning.

"Enemy AC detected. Designation: Oblivion." Upon hearing this latest intel, he looked at his short ranged radar and his visuals. He noticed several enemy MTs heading for Tanja had turned around and returned to the battleline, but it wasn't because they couldn't keep up. Nick looked up in horror as he saw Oblivion's AC hovering over the battlefield, his laser cannon repaired and targeting the blue AC of Hunter III.

"TANJA, LOOK OUT!"

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Pilan dashed to the garage to start up her AC. She had managed to warn Lians in time, just moments before Layered's sensors detected the two ACs battling the MTs, but after the ACs had gotten up there. She was one of a few Ravens who haven't gotten into battle yet because of her being stuck in the conference room for too long. The only other ravens that weren't up there were either asleep, wounded, having their ACs repaired, or are already out on a different mission. She turned a corner sharply and jumped into the cockpit of her AC. She flipped the switches that would activate the generator, radiator, and computer, then started to fasten herself in and put on her helmet as the system did the rest. The EGRET's visor glowed a bright red as energy flowed through its systems and started it up. "Zeo Streak II active. Normal mode engaged," the computer stated. Pilan briefly smiled at hearing her mother's voice again.

"Alright, Zeo Streak. Lets show those bastards what we're made of." She barely took a step outside the garage when her systems were giving her an immediate warning.

"ALERT!! Enemy AC detected. Switching systems to combat mode." The AC lifted its gun arm and the targeting system display activated on her screen. Pilan immediately checked her radar and her surroundings for the AC. "Scanning configuration....the AC is a standard Zeo Matrix mobile design equipped with plasma cannon, torpedos, blade, and laser rifle."

'Standard mobile model?' Pilan thought as she continued to scan her surroundings. 'And a Zeo model, no less. Its stats won't be much different from mine, but that configuration...'

"AC Zeo Streak Alpha confirmed." Pilan's eyes immediately widened. "Error: AC unit recorded destroyed in Martian Colony Massacre. Double checking configuration..."

"Abort double check," Pilan commanded. 'Mother's AC? But only she could command it.'

"Pilan," her speakers spoke up. She reconized the voice as that of Lians. "We have a situation. An Armored Core has infiltrated Layered and is.."

"I know, my AC picked it up. Where is it?"

Lians blinked. "Its in sector 216. MT defence units and Cortex ACs are already en route, but current forces there are being wiped out."

"Tell the reinforcements to arrive only if I am defeated. My AC identified it as a very dangerous one, one that I must stop alone."

Lians stared at her communicator system. "You have five minutes. If the target isn't destroyed or it manages to leave the area, the reinforcements will arrive."

"More than enough time." She cut the comm and overboosted to sector 216 to stop an AC.

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AC Zeo Streak Alpha dashed down the road, evading enemy fire with ease and slicing up the enemy with its blade. The AC charged down like this for several blocks before finally stopping in a clearing within sector 216. An identacle AC was already waiting, its red visor flashing menacingly at it. The two Streaks stared at each other, before Zeo Streak II broke the silence. "AC pilot!" Pilan yelled over her comm. "Identify yourself!"

A female voice responded, one that sounded just like the EGRET of Pilan's AC and in Martian. "I am Pilana, Nine Breaker of Mars." The AC dropped its gun arm down as it went into normal mode. "I have come for you, Pilan."

"You can't be who you say you are. Pilana died ten years ago," Pilan yelled in Martian. Zeo Streak II pointed its Karasawa MKII at the fellow Zeo Matrix machine. "Identify yourself!"

"I am Pilana, Nine Breaker of Mars," the AC said again. "Pilan, I have something importaint that I must do." The ACs stared at each other in the clearing as Pilan's precious time started to disappear.

Cliffie. And i noticed the three review that I recieved for the last chapter. apologies for the lateness of this chapter, but something locked down my AOL account. I had to get this on using other means.

Ryuushen: Thanks for the review, and you are hitting the nail right on the head about the purpose of a review. To me, it is a way to have the readers relay what they think about one's work. The truth doesn't hurt, but a lie will just piss me off. Don't worry, though. The title will make an appearance in this fan fic soon enough.

Bloody Kitsune: I guess you got a point with the new AC there, but new parts aren't always good. In fact, designing Hunter III in Silent Line was horrible, and Nexus made my favorite configuration pail in comparison to my new A class AC. Don't worry, my town isn't all that great either. I had to reserve my copy. And that FCS thing, that is what you meant from your other review, right? If so, I understand what you were getting at now.

Xardion: You noticed, eh? It seems to help show the character's personality and also helps in showing hidden sides of a character as well, as will be noted in the next chapter. Besides, there is a saying that love has people do strange things. You'll see what I mean in the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 7: Plus

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 7: Plus

"What could be sooo importaint that you need to smash your way through the Nest to find me?" Pilan stared at the AC identified as Zeo Streak Alpha, the very same AC that was supposedly destroyed before her mother died within the origional Zeo Streak.

"You are," the pilot responded. Pilana claimed to be the Nine Breaker of Mars, but records show that Pilana had died defending a colony during the Martian Colony Massacre. "You must learn who you really are, and I am here to see if you are good enough."

"Good enough for what?" she asked in an irritated tone.

"To fight the human plus," Pilana responded, "and to take down anyone who would stand in your way." Alpha lifted its Karasawa, reingaging its battle mode. "Best way to know if you can is to defeat one. You must defeat me."

"Wait a minute," Pilan yelled as her AC retaliated to the agressive act by arming its own Karasawa. "Your are a plus?"

"That I am," Pilana responded, boosting to the side. "I am Pilana, Nine Breaker of Mars," she stated as she fired her weapon at II, who flew in the air to evade the shot. It wizzed by and hit a building, glass shattering and concrete flying as it hit. "Born near the end of the Murakumo Era in a labratory, with all of my genes augmented before I was even born." Pilan aimed and fired a shot at Alpha, who evaded it just as easily by ducking to the side. "Raised by the doctors of Murakumo with an understanding of my puropse. An understanding to what I am, a human weapon." She appeared on the other side of a building, firing a trio of shots at Pilan. She dodged them with ease, but a segment of her armor got skinned by the third shot, causing a mild burst of laser to explode on it. "I was among the last of Murakumo's Human Plus specimens. I was raised and trained to fight inside any machine, completely cut off from the outside world." Pilan fired five more shots at Alpha, just grazing its leg with two shots. Alpha then armed its ground torpedos and fired, which were intercepted by Pilan's Hound intercept system. "I became the youngest Raven on earth, shortly after Murakumo and Chrome's reign were replaced by that of Emeraude, Balena, and Zeo Matrix. I was unstoppable, I couldn't be defeated on earth."

The two ACs started to shift their battle location a bit, but Pilan knew that she couldn't allow Alpha to escape. She tried to keep them going back to the center of sector 216 to avoid dragging the fight out, and to prevent the militia from coming in to fight and lose their lives to take this opponent down. Luckily, it seemed that Pilana didn't want to be disengaged from Pilan at all. "Moving to Mars granted me opportunities that I couldn't possibly encounter while I stayed on this pile of dirt. I was still undefeated as I defeated the Ravens in the arena and as I accepted missions for the warring corporations." The two fired even more torpedos at each other, which failed to hit either one of them for their reflexes and their countermeasures. "I battled Leos Klein, the leader of the Frighteners, and all of his subordinates." The Frighteners were once a group of veteran pilots from earth who attempted to control mars. "Klein had his allies and the Disorder units from Mars's past at his command, but they weren't strong enough to stop me." She armed her laser cannon from her shoulder and started to fire on Pilan while on the move, a trademark note that she is what she claimed to be. "I defeated Klein and all that stood in my way. He was also a Plus, and the only person who ever got close to defeating me in battle." Pilan evaded the cannon as well as she could, firing her Karasawa at the evasive Alpha and getting close for a sword strike. The twin Moonlights clashed as Alpha parried the strikes with her own, resulting in both ACs taking mild damage.

"I eventually found love in a fellow Raven and had you. Half of your blood is that of Murakumo's pet project. You are a Human Plus. NOW FIGHT LIKE ONE!" Alpha boosted back and fired another laser cannon shot, which Pilan barely avoided by ducking behind a building. Glass exploded as the heated beam passed far too close to the building's side.

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Tanja boosted for the elevator shaft in an attempt to get down into Layered and fight off the AC that had entered there moments before. She was being chased by Neo Core's MTs, but those were now turning back towards the fight or were engaged by other Ravens. "TANJA!!! LOOK OUT!!!!" Before she had a chance to figure out what was meant by Reaper's words, her AC was hit in the blade arm by a laser cannon. The shot took the arm off at the shoulder, the reminants twitching on the ground as sparks erupted from the fresh wound the AC had taken.

"Enemy AC Oblivion confirmed," Hunter III stated. Tanja immediately turned around to face her target. She looked up in time to see him open fire with his laser again, and it took off her rockets before she could react.

"How interesting to see you again, little Raven," Oblivion spoke. "Now I can finish the job I had started with your partner." He fired his laser again, but Tanja was ready this time. She boosted to the side, evading the shot completely. She then armed her Karasawa and fired upon her target. He evaded the shot with ease. "I see you have a few new toys, but that's all they are compared to me."

"We'll just have to see about that," Tanja responded, firing her Karasawa several more times at the target. He evaded six of the seven shots, whereas the one shot scored him in the arm mildly. He dropped to the ground and fired his machine gun, which started to penetrate her core as she returned fire.

"Do you honestly believe that you actually stand a chance with all of that?" he taunted. "Your way out of your league, and you will die for getting in my way." The two ACs circled around each other, each firing shots when they saw a chance to do so. Tanja's generator was beginning to suffer as she fired her EO, Karasawa, and her boosters in an attempt to stay locked onto Oblivion and causing as much damage as she could possibly do.

Nick saw as the fight broke out between the two Ravens, and he knew this fight wouldn't end well. He looked back at the other Ravens, who were starting to wane under the attack. Several of the ACs weren't properly equipped for long term battle, either due to a lack of armor or a lack of rounds against large numbers of enemies. Those that tried to retreat for a reload back in Layered were shot down immediately by the enemy. Many more weren't adept at using the blades they had added to their ACs, and close quarters wasn't for a greenhorn against these MTs, whose skill matched those of any Raven even thought the units were nowhere near as well armored.

He saw as Big Shot and her Hellbringer opened fire with everything she had. Any enemy that got too close to her was torched by her flamethrower, while she attacked with her other weapons at any target that was in the way. She used her thrusters sparingly as her EO and guns fired away at the target, the powerful blasts easily wiping out a single MT with relative ease. She also used the Intensify part that Tanja loaned her to fire her stronger cannons with her bipedal machine. Devil's Painbringer stayed in the rear with the other tank models, for they weren't capable of overcoming the manuverable MTs if they got too close. The firepower they fielded surpassed most of the standard ACs in battle, and thier position allowed supply trucks to sit behind the firing line to keep them loaded and to reload any standard AC that managed to return for replenishing. So far, only the tanks got these much needed supplies. Demon and Sprint were leading a squad of the fastest ACs available on hit and run tactics, getting close to inflict damage and getting away to aviod taking too much damage in return. They were getting pretty sucessful, but the MTs were starting to organize themselves for the next possible run. Many more were in the thick of the fight, explosions erupting everywhere as ACs and MTs alike were taken down. Ace had fired everything he had until his rounds were depleted, in which case he chose to jeteson his now useless weapons and anti missiles to favor speed for his dreaded Moonlight. The situation made it impossible to fire any Titan missiles into the fray, for the resulting explosion would claim allies and enemies alike.

Nick checked his ammo stores, the fighting had barely used up half of his mahcine gun's rounds, but his missiles were dangerously low. Only his laser cannon was fully armed, and he had only one target for that. He turned back and boosted towards Tanja to assist her, taking out any enemy that dared get in his way. Several enemies deliberately got in his way, but a quick slice with his Moonlight got them down on the ground in no time.

Tanja stopped her boosters and deactivated her EO, her generator wasn't able to take the three energy consuming items anymore. She swithched her rifle for her missiles, which were still functioning for being a solid round weapon. She forced Hunter to watch her target for the lock while she continued evasive maneuvers. Oblivion had swapped his gun for his gernade launcher, which missed as Hunter ducked left and right. When her two missiles got their lock, she opened fire as Oblivion fired yet another gernade. The one missile and the gernade connected, creating an explosion that hid the other missile from both sides of it. Oblivion was nicked in the other shoulder by the missile, which shredded some armor off upon impact. Tanja looked at the cloud of smoke that now clouded her vision, searching for her target and scanning with her head mounted radar. She never saw Oblivion arm his laser cannon and fire where he believed she was, which struck Hunter III hard. The cockpit flashed as the laser impacted and the internal lighting flickered from it. The side view screens and radar console exploded as well, showering Tanja with broken glass. She glared at her front visor and her radar, both of which were showing her static. Warning indicators popped up on her secondary screens, which now weren't showing all the information she needed anymore. Her reminants counter was offline, immediate target data was gone, and the AC could only identify where it was damaged and the fact that it had weapons on certain locations. Her AC couldn't identify what was namely damaged and what the hell it was holding. "Hunter, what's our status?" The computer emitted static, a bad sign. "Hunter, respond!" More static greeted her, followed by laughter from Oblivion.

"What's the matter, Raven? Can't get any help from your AC computer, perhaps?" The sounds of movement was heard within the cockpit. Tanja tried to find the source, but she still couldn't see a thing while Oblivion continued laughing. "If I'm not very much mistaken, your vision, radar, and data display are all dead. That's to be expected when your AC's head has been blasted clean off." Tanja looked at her damage display, which showed the block that represented the head was all red.

'That means that only the FCS is working, but that has limited function abilities with the rest of the AC,' she thought to herself. 'I can still shoot, but I'll have no clue as to whether I hit or not.' She looked at her downed screen, seeking anything in the mess that could help. "If you know my plight so well, then I am no longer a threat to you."

"Don't think that you will get off that easy. I finished off your friend the other day, and I have every intention of having you meet him." He stepped forward, preparing his strike on Hunter III.

Nick saw this from his distance away. He was too far away to even fire his laser cannon, so he charged in and took out as many MTs as there were in his way. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!!" he yelled, slicing another few in half with his Moonlight. Once the immediate area was clear, he armed his laser cannon for a hopeful shot. Before he could fire, his back was attacked by another MT. He pivoted his AC's torso to the MT, right arm extended, and loaded its core with MG-800 rounds. 'I will NOT let him kill her,' he thougth, boosting closer to Oblivion for a better shot.

Meanwhile, Tanja watched her screen, and barely spotted a lock with her messed up vision. "Guess I go out fighting, then." She activated her EO and fired her laser rifle at Oblivion, catching him off guard. A few shots got his AC square in the core, while others scraped armor off segments of his unit.

"YOU BITCH!!!" He sliced her gun arm off and shot down both EOs with his machine gun. He then knocked her AC flat down on the ground and thrusted his blade into the radiator. Tanja's left side screens exploded as the sudden heat of the laser blade speared the radiator and tapped the screens. Glass pelted her left side as she tried to get her AC back up. It was no use, for the missing radiator would allow the heat to accumulate within her AC, the same way Nick lost Deathsythe VII. "Now you'll die nice...and slow." He then thrusted his blade into the generator, causing it to try and power the radiator. The heat within the unit began to skyrocket, and Tanja was starting to feel the heat. "Are you dead yet, Raven?"

"Not...yet..." The missiles on her back fired into his shoulder, damaging the joint. In anger, he stood up and fired a gernade straight into the core, severely denting the angled body and sending the interior heat through the roof. The heat was overwhelming, the cockpit was now beginning to reach four-hundred degrees. Tanja started to struggle to stay awake

"Your friend ain't here to help you this time, so burn in he..." A sudden shot speared through the air, claiming his gernade launcher and a segment of his armor. "WHAT?!?" Oblivion's Skyeye turned to meet the Misteye of a black and white AC, whose color scheme looked familiar. Its laser cannon had vapor issuing off the barrel, for it had fired it while standing. Its left hand held the cannon up, as if supporting he weapon into position.

"I'm not in hell, nor can I ever be in hell." The AC stated. "That is because I am hell's hand, its warrior of death." The Misteye gowed red. "I am the Grim Reaper, and the only one going to hell today is you." He ignited his moonlight and pointed it at Oblivion. "Now you fight me again, and my Deathsythe VIII!"

"Ah, the arrogant ace of this worthless planet. So, you didn't die." He smirked within his cockpit as he turned his AC to the newcomer. "Time to finish what we started, then."

"Your on," Nick replied, activating his EO and machine gun as he charged in, with Oblivion chattering his machine gun in retaliation.

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Pilan forced her AC behind another building as Alpha fired another round of missiles, exploding on the surface of the wall. "Great time for my intercept to run out," she muttered as her radar tracked Alpha's movement. It was heading around the corner to attack her again. That either meant that one of her lasers were armed now, or else she was planning on cutting Pilan in half. She tapped a control and felt her AC drop to a knee, the laser cannon unfolding and resting on her shoulder. Her AC instinctively raised its left hand to hold the cannon up into position. She locked onto Alpha from her side of the building and followed her until she boosted around the corner. Pilan fired the laser, but Alpha jumped up at the last possible second. It shot outside the battle area and scored a hit on a building in the next sector. Pilan panicked and forced her AC backwards, but the cannon was preventing her from moving until it could fold up again. "Dammit, not now!"

"You have just made your fatal error," Pilana declaired, her AC appearing before Pilan with immense speed. "Prepare to die!" She ignited her blade weapon and charged in towards Pilan, intent on cutting the AC in half. Pilan saw the attack and didn't realize as her hand forced her AC to dodge. Zeo Streak II narrowly evaded the blade by ducking to its left, getting a nice scar on the sleek core. Pilan then attacked with her sword, which was also evaded with ease as Alpha jumped up. The two units targeted each other with their Karasawas and fired the reminants of their rounds into each other with ease. Both ACs started to smoke from the damage they had taken from the few nicks they suffered and the full blown barrage they had inflicted onto each other. They both backed away and armed their laser cannons. Pilan, unfortunately, was forced onto her knee again from the weapon, and she knew the next shot would be lethal. She again didn't notice that her hands were pressing on the controls, and she was surprised when she noticed that her AC stopped dropping down alot faster than before. She had no time to ponder it, for she now had to worry about the laser cannon that was just fired. Reacting purely on instinct, she forced the AC to boost to the side to evade the shot. The AC responded and moved aside with the cannon unfolded, which shattered the windows of the building Pilan chose for cover. She then jumped up and activated her overboost, which charged up as she neared the top of the building. She was propelled forward while losing altitude, but she cleared the building and flew towards Alpha with the laser cannon resting on her AC's shoulders. She fired the weapon and hit the core right where the generator was, destroying the remaining bit of stability the unit had left and shutting it down at the same time. Zeo Streak II landed behind Alpha's remains.

Pilan's eyes were wide open as she tried to understand what the hell happened. The action she had performed was not something that could have been done by a normal pilot, and it was done so flawlessly and fast. She couldn't make sense of what she had done, but knew that she had defeated her opponent. "Well...done...Pilan.." she heard on her speakers, but the voice on the comms didn't sound like before. "I...know that....your power....is unlocked....now." Pilan looked at Alpha, which had crouched down into its defeated stance. "There..'s...just...one...thing....left." Pilan's eyes widened in terror as the AC lifted itself off of the ground, struggling to stay up. It was like if someone with broken legs or no energy left was struggling to move just a little more. It turned towards her AC and flashed its visor. Her systems suddenly froze, preventing her from doing anything. "You must...now...handle...your her..it..age." The voice sounded like Pilana was dying within the cockpit, but her AC continued to move right towards Zeo Streak II. It got up close to Pilan's AC and touched the EGRET with its hand. Suddenly, Pilan saw visions within her mind's eye. Visions that weren't from her memories at all, and far too much for her to handle.

'WH..What's HAPPENIG?'she thought to herself as these images flooded her head. 'WHAT IS THIS?' Both ACs suddenly dropped to their knees in front of each other, with Zeo Streak Alpha and Zeo Streak II opening their hatches. Pilan looked into the cockpit of Alpha, half expecting to see her mother's body within. Instead, there was... "Noone's in it??" The images continued to swim through her head, and she was starting to lose it with her mind. They got to the point in which her body could only do one thing, make her pass out in her cockpit.

The MTs arrived to the sector minutes later and spotted the two ACs powered down in the middle of the area. They immediately moved the two ACs to the garage and sent Pilan to the infirmary, who was out like a light.

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Oblivion looped behind DeathsytheVIII, trying to get a good shot with the laser cannon into the rear armor of the core. The unit wouldn't allow him to stay there, however, because it kept trying to loop around just to keep Oblivion in its sights, its EO active to fire on the Plus when any sort of lock is achieved. Both units were pretty battered up with bullet holes in their armors and battle damage from their previous enemies. If either one of them were to finish off the other, then one of them would have to deviate from their attack pattern and make a bold move.

Deathsythe boosted the opposite direction after continuing the circle for several revolutions and fired his laser at Oblivion, which managed to skim across the armor of its gun arm as it made a desperate attempt to evade. Oblivion armed his own laser cannon and fired right at Deathsythe's leg, creating a hole in the unit's shin and forcing it down. "You're no match for me, earthling," Oblivion spat into the communication. He boosted toward the crippled AC and ignited his blade, preparing to spear the new model right in the cockpit. He started to make the stab when his unit took damage from behind, disabling his laser cannon yet again. He turned immediately to spot his assailant, discovering that Hunter III, headless and overheating, had managed to get back up and fire the last of its missiles at him. In a mild rage, he fired his machine gun at the crippled AC, riddling it with more bullet holes before it fell down again.

Deathsythe took its chance and made a swift strike with the moonlight while Oblivion was destracted, managing to take out the right arm from the elbow. The EO of his core immediately opened fire into the rear of Oblivion, damaging the overbooster before he managed to move his sorry metal ass. Oblivion moved out of Deathsythe's range of fire and observed the battlefield. There were about thirty Ravens left from the Cortex fighting, and there now weren't enough Neo Core forces left to take them out. He looked for a few seconds before having to dodge to the side, evading a linear cannon shot from a raven's tank. "Our match is a draw for now, Raven," he stated over the comm, sensing the Misteye's visor glaring at him. "The next time we meet, only one of us will walk away alive!" With that, Oblivion took off towards the distant horizon. Several of the Neo Core MTs also departed, leaving the rest to be destroyed by the defenders.

Deathsythe struggled up onto its one leg and surveyed the battle area as well. He saw the field littered with the destroyed metal carcasses of NCMTs, Cortex MTs, and Raven ACs all over the place. The computer determined that the MT pilots survival chances were about 25, but the ravens had a lower survival rating because of how severely decimated they were from the enemy. Many of the Cores had their cockpits targeted, others only had half their cores and their legs remianing. Very few were salvagable. The survivors were already checking the area for any sign of life from the other MTs and ACs that had fallen, even though some of the searchers were in no better shape themselves. Ace was a prime example, for his AC was nicked in virtually every possible spot. Segments of his armor plating was gone, exposing the vulnerable innards within. His right arm was lost somewhere in the sea of MTs, and his head gear was severely banged up.

Reaper confirmed that everyone from his team were among the ones that had survived, and was pleased to see that Tanja's team was alright as well. Demon and Sprint were in decent shape, their tactic had helped them avoid serious damage to their ACs, making them prime personell for moving the damaged ACs. Big Shot had lost a leg to her AC, but that didn't stop her from fighting on and forcing the enemy away from her. Her unit would require some time in the shop to repair all the dents, burns, and gashes in its armor. Devil was virtually unscathed, if you failed to notice the damaged front of his tank. That was from charging the first MT to get close at overboost speed with the flamethrower ignited, resulting in one flattened MT. Satisfied that they didn't need any immediate assistance, he activated his boosters and made a quick dash to Hunter III to check on Tanja.

When he got there, the AC was already starting to turn a dull shade of purple. The red hot metal was starting to melt the blue paint right off the armor, while the armor segments were white at the edges. Her AC was a mess, and the heat levels were still rising. He set his AC down right on top of Hunter III and opened his cockpit, jumping out onto the damaged core and opened the cockpit hatch. He felt the heat of the damaged AC when he landed, and grabbing the hatch release was like grabbing a heated metal pole. The heat went through his pilot gloves as he opened the cockpit, his left arm burning in pain from the heat and the lack of healing it had. He gritted his teeth to supress the pain as he got in and fished Tanja out, who was out cold because of the excessive heat from within. Glancing to his side, he smashed the emergency power controls with his right as he hoisted Tanja over his left shoulder. The unit immediately went into emergency shutdown mode as Reaper hoisted himself and Tanja outside. He immediately checked her condition the instant he got her onto the ground, noticing that her body was really heated up from the exposure. Glass shards were stuck in several places on her left side, the wounds already scabbed from the heat in a poor manner. "Tanja! TANJA!" She didn't respond to Reaper as he called. "Shit!" He tapped his head gear and acessed a comm channel. "Lians, it Reaper. We need medical teams out here stat. One raven with heat exposure and countless other pilots in the battlefield. We need them right now!" He never gave Lians the chance to respond, for he then threw off his helmet and immediately did his best to keep Tanja cool.

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took longer than anticipated, but it's finally done. as usual, read and review for the next chapter. also, here are the list of reviewers from the last chapter:

Bloody kitsune: good luck in getting nexus, and be careful when assembling your new core when you do. As for the pilot of that other Zio Streak, refer to the story.

Rytiko: I am honored that you gave my fan fiction a chance. I also hope that your fanfic will do better when you give yourself the chance to write it, i'll be checking it out when i find it. lastly, those three ACs in silent line are always a problem for everybody, I think. Just keep trying and adjust your AC accordingly, they will eventually fall to your weapons and skill.

Serix14: hope the teachers really don't care, otherwise i might accidently get you in a bit of trouble. you wanted to see the next chapter, so here it is. hope you enjoyed it and stick around till i am truely finished.


	9. Chapter 8: Recovery

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 8 Recovery

Over in the infirmary, Nick was sitting in a chair next to one of the hospital beds. In the bed Tanja laid, her blue hair covering her bangs. She was covered with a thin sheet that the hospital used and her Raven pilot uniform. The left sleeve was ripped off to allow the doctors to properly handle the wounds on her arm, but they were minor. Her body was hooked up to a readout, keeping track of her pulse, heart rate, and her current body temperature. Behind them, teams Doom and Breaker watched them from the door, being cautious not to make any sort of sound that would distract Nick from his vigil. He knew they were there, but ignored them non the less. "See?" Sara asked, pointing at him.

"What's the big deal?" Chris asked stupidly, earning him a few glares from the group. "He's just sitting next to her."

Linda bopped his head. "You idiot! He has been sitting there ever since she was dragged up here. That means he hasn't move from that spot for almost twenty four hours."

"She's right," Eddy added. "He never left her side for any reason. Nothing to eat or drink there at all. Hell, he even fell asleep in that chair."

"Just tells me that he will need to take a hell of a piss," Chris replied. He then dug into his street jacket and pulled out a bottle of his strong liquor, which he then opened and took a drink from. He turned to Eddy and held the bottle to him. "Want a zip?"

Eddy glared at him. "No thanks. That one night taught me never to try your drinks!"

Chris shrugged and held it at Linda. She grinned and took the bottle from him and made to take a sip. Before the bottle even reached her lips, she whipped it at the back of Chris's head. The bottle shattered and the liquid spilled all over his body as he was knocked out. "That was for that same night, ass hole, for tricking Sara and me." She gave the unconscious pilot a swift kick in the side to prove her point, then went back to watching Nick. Eddy was surprised by her sudden change in mood, deciding that it is never a good idea to piss off any girl whatsoever. Unfortunately for those two, they never were aware of the fact that Chris's liquors are so strong, just the vapor is enough to get a person drunk. When Sara looked up, she noticed that Eddy and Linda were looking at each other woozily, both of their faces flushed red.

She sighed. "Come on, you two. Follow me." She grabbed Chris's body off the floor and walked down the hall out of the hospital, wondering how he was able to make an alcoholic beverage so potent as the other two followed her as well as they could, leaning on each other to help support themselves.

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"ENEMY ATTACK!!! ENEMY ATTACK!!!" A group of space MTs exploded as powerful explosives struck them, armor fragments flying all over the place. About ten MTs were already functioning and seeking out the enemy that now attacked them, but they couldn't locate him fast enough to stop the carnage that already was ensuing.

"Base bravo, this is battalion 106. Where is the target?"

"CANNOT LOCATE TARGET!!! THE RADAR WAS HIT FIRST!!!!" The pilot grimaced, this was sounding too much like the last couple bases on lunar. Those ones are out of service for now, considering it would take weeks to repair them. Rumor was spreading around that it was a Martian AC causing the havoc, but that was impossible. There were too few of those Ravens that actually made it down almost a week ago, and no additional reinforcements had been sent. Even if the ones that did make it survived to Lunar, they should have been long dead from suffocation. Whatever the case, something was taking these bases down, and all of them seemed to lose their radar before being attacked directly. His thoughts were ripped away from him when he heard a yell from his comm as one of his wingmates opened fire with his gatling gun. He turned in the direction the gun was pointing, but..

"Private, what the hell are you shooting at?!?"

"Something moved over there, sir. I saw a red glow."

"I don't see..." His MT interrupted as his radar picked up a heat signature. His MT identified it. "SHIIIIT! ITS A ...." He never finished his sentence, for his Mt was hit in the core by a laser cannon and exploded. The MTs opened fire on the unseen target, trying to hit whatever was out there before they met a similar fate. More laser blasts were fired, those soon backed up by chain gun rounds. Eventually, all the MTs were destroyed as was the base. Among the wreckage, a single light fixture shone upon a dark colored AC, its chain gun smoking.

The twenty two year old boy within sighed. His green eyes scanned his radar as he set up an encoded communication. "Destructor, this is Dark."

A female voice greeted him, who he recognized as Doom. "He's fiddling with the bathrooms this place has." By the sound of her voice, she was slightly irritated. "How'd it go?"

"This is the third base I have taken out within the past day," he replied, confirming that there was nothing left in the area. "I'm returning to base now. I should be back within a few hours." He steered his AC in another direction of the base and started to boost off at OB speeds. "What's wrong with the bathrooms?"

If he had a visual, he would have noticed a sour look on her face. "The toilets got backed up and the shower water is all mucky. Destructor appears to know how to fix them, so he went in and tried to handle them."

"Right. I'm going into comm blackout right now, so I'll talk with you when I get back."

"Understood. Be careful coming back."

"Don't worry, they'll never find me in this mess."

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Tanja stirred in her sleep, her consciousness returning to her. She tried to open her eyes, but was forced to squint because of the powerful light fixture above her. Once her eyes adjusted, which took about a minute, she immediately realized where the hell she was.

"Welcome back to the mortal world." She turned her head towards the voice, spotting Nick at her side. She now could confirm where she is.

"Let me guess," she said in a soft voice, "I'm in the infirmary right now." He nodded. "I'm here because of the severe heat from my AC's cockpit and my AC is in desperate need of repair." He nodded again. "Been in this damn room for a week."

"Try twenty four hours," Nick interrupted. "You weren't exposed to that much heat for as long as I have. As for your AC, it will take about a week just to do the repair work. But it will take even longer to get all of your systems wired up, repairs need to be done to your FCS, the EO needs to be replaced and aren't that easy to come by separately, and your AC is among the twenty or so units that made it back with a living pilot."

Tanja ignored this, for she was still trying to check for a feeling in her toes. "I couldn't stop him, my AC wasn't good enough."

"Just be grateful that your AC design was built up enough to keep you from dying from that last shot of his. If it makes you feel any better, I barely managed to fight him off, even with intensify."

She frowned. "It doesn't." She found feeling in her hands, immediately making an attempt of propping herself up more. After barely managing to get into a sitting position, she looked him in the eye. "Don't tell me you were in here the whole time."

He shrugged. "I did, only because it was Oblivion that we're talking about. Why?"

"Because you stink like a dog. You may want to consider high strength soap." She looked around the hospital room, noticing all the other Ravens that were currently stuck in the beds. "How did our friends fare?"

Nick looked at her calmly before responding. "They made it out all right. Nothing more that a bit of exhaustion and a few bumps and bruises, whether those be on their bodies or their ACs." He looked at the window. "But I haven't seen our Martian friend, Pilan, anywhere." Tanja thought she saw a red headed Raven well across the room, but there were nurses around the mercenary and were making hard to see who it was. It seemed that the nurses are very concerned about their patient, for Nick looked up. "Those nurses have been messing around with that Raven over there ever since before you got here. I can't figure out what the big deal is over there at all."

Tanja just looked around and thought for the next few minutes while Nick looked outside. "So, anything interesting happen while I was out?"

"Hardly," was Nick's reply. "There haven't been any new raven missions and the arena fights have been postponed until further notice. All of the operators have been in conferences, as far as I can tell, ever since the incident ended." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "If you ask me, the situation will have us in a similar position to Nerves Concord concerning Lunar. If that is the case, then I'll bet we'll be among the Ravens sent up to teach that corporation a lesson." Tanja smiled weakly, for the thought of a war looming upon them was not something she was used to, not since the Controller had attacked Layered. She shifted her attention to the TV on the opposite side of the room. Every bed had a TV near it, so that the patients could relax watching what they wanted. It was currently playing a scene from some ancient show called "Mobile Suit Gundam: 8th MS Team."

"I see your taste in television took priority here," she muttered so that he could hear. He turned red in annoyance as she changed it to the news channel. There was a motion clip of the battle that had occurred just the other day. "What the..."

"...Neo Core's surprise attack on Layered was a breach in neutrality laws that were instated when Mars declared war on the new corporation about a week ago. This recent act took the lives of thirty brave Muscle Tracer pilots and about twenty or so unnamed Ravens, a heavy blow for Global Cortex and the corporations that hire Ravens from them." The screen then changed to show an operator leaving the conference room right into a field of reporters and cameras. "Moments ago, the operators and officials of Global Cortex, who have been in a conference since the situation was brought back under control, adjourned their meeting with one thought in mind, revenge. They are now seeking skilled Ravens that have survived the battle to accept some sort of mission, but specific details pertaining to this mission haven't been disclosed to the public. All that is known is that it involves the cooperation of all the earth corporations and some of their specialist pilots." The screen changed again, showing the remains of what appeared to be a base. "In other news, beams from the silent line satellite rain down..." Tanja turned off the TV right there, not really caring about the damned satellite.

"Seems they did just what you feared they would do, Reaper," Tanja said as she struggled to get out of bed.

"Tanja, you really shouldn't be moving right now!"

"That didn't stop you the other day, did it?" Nick groaned upon hearing her response. "Besides, I'll never feel any better without moving around." She managed to stand herself up, but she almost fell upon trying to step away from the bed. Nick managed to catch her in time.

'Seems that I am rubbing off on her. Why is she acting like this?' He shook the thought to the back of his head as he looked at her. "Guess it's my turn to help you walk, eh?" She nodded. "Fine then," he stated as he led her out of the room, "Where to?"

"The garage. I want to check up on something..."

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"Doctor, I think you should take a look at this." The nurse's eyes were wide open in surprise at what she was looking at.

"Mary, what is it this time?" a doctor muttered as he walked towards the nurse.

"These PET readings for that one Raven are unusual."

"Which raven, there are almost twenty in here."

"The red head girl. The one without any physical wounds, yet has been unconscious for over twenty eight hours." The doctor knew which one she meant now and checked the scans.

"Are these right? No person has these kinds of readings while unconscious!"

"That's not all, she's been muttering something in another language and has often been thrashing around in her bed since midnight." The two looked at the Raven they spoke of, who still wore a red Raven's flight suit belonging to Nerves Concord. She suddenly opened her eyes and scanned the area quickly. She then immediately sat up, startling both medical personnel with her sudden movement. The raven looked around a little bit more with pure red eyes before getting up and walking away, leaving the two staring after her.

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Tanja and Nick made it to the Garage within a matter of minutes, in which they continued on towards her AC. It definitely looked worse on the outside than it did within. Almost the entire head was destroyed by Oblivion, only a sliver of its visor had remained intact. The right arm was dangling off of the unit by a few wires at the shoulder guard, but there was a mess of cables where the main segment of the arm used to be. It also turned out that the Karasawa rifle was damaged because an MT had stepped on it before the battle was over, making it chancy to use in another fight until it could be repaired. The blade arm was in shambles, considering cables were jutting out of the socket where the shoulder should be. Although the arm itself was recovered, it was flat as a pancake due to yet another unit landing right on top of it. The rockets were decimated, and her core had blade stabs, bullet holes, and good chunks of armor blown off from battle.

"I can't believe I survived that," she mumbled under her breath, unaware that Nick had heard her.

"Same thing I though," he said. "I barely survived my encounter, and my AC wasn't in much better shape." He looked behind him and saw the still charred remains of his Deathsythe VII, with the repaired Deathsythe VIII standing next to it. "Of course, I might never be able to pilot that old one again. By the looks of things, your AC might end up giving mine company." The two Ravens just looked at what remained of Hunter III.

"You were right about one thing," Tanja said in a low tone.

Nick looked at her. "Right about what?"

"The unit was too focused on energy use." She looked at Nick, their eyes meeting. "I partially lost because I had to use my missiles and couldn't use my EO, Rifle, or boosters." She glanced at Hunter III again.

"Why did you even bother with all that energy equipment anyway?"

Tanja just stared emptily at her AC. "My aunt piloted an AC that was exceptionally powerful," she murmured so that only he could hear. "It was said that her AC used nothing but energy based weapons, and she had never lost a match." She started to look a little depressed. "I never got a chance to see her or her AC, for she died when I was about eleven on Mars."

'Mars,' Nick thought. 'The Martian Colony Massacre.' He looked sorrowfully at Tanja. "She died in the incident, didn't she?"

"That's what I've been told," Tanja murmured again, then turned to Nick. "But she died fighting in the cockpit."

"Your motto," Nick noted. "I'm assuming that you are still going to stick to it."

"Of course," she said with a smile. "All I need is either a new AC or this one repaired." She turned back and looked at Hunter III one last time before motioning Nick to help her move on.

"If we get another mission, your going to need a new AC anyway," Nick mentioned. "It might be wise to visit old Greg again. He can get you a new AC built within a day, after all." Tanja nodded in agreement. They walked past the other Raven garages before arriving at the shop, where they were greeted by Greg himself.

"Didn't expect ya both back so soon," Greg said in greeting. "What can I do fer ya today?"

"Hoping to build a new AC," Nick said.

Greg's expression changed quickly to anger. "WHAT!!! DON TELL ME YA ALREADY WASTED YER AC! YA BARELY HAD ER FOR A DAY, AND NOW YA EXPECT ME TA..."

"Chill, Greg," Tanja yelled loud enough to shut him up. Nick was still recovering from Greg's sudden change in emotion when his ear started to ring from her yelling. Tanja noticed this. "Sorry, Nick," she murmured before turning back to Greg. "We're here because MY AC got totaled yesterday.

Greg blinked in surprise from both of her statements directed at him. "Oh, in that case, apologies fer my reaction. Help yerselves, ya both know where they er." He started walking towards the back to warm up the assembly equipment when he turned his head towards them. "So, wen da wedding?" The two shot him deathglares, which made him hasten his movement.

"What did he mean by that, exactly?" Tanja questioned Nick as they moved towards the Core terminal.

"He saw you in my bed yesterday," Nick murmured, "when he was telling me that Deathsythe VIII was ready."

Tanja's eyes widened. "So, he thinks that we.." Nick nodded. "I'm going to remind you to help me kick Chris's ass when we bump into him again." Nick nodded in agreement as Tanja skimmed through the new parts that became available. She was in luck, for new Mirage parts had just come out of the factories and now were in stock. Comparing the statuses of each new part, she finally made her selections. For the AC's body frame, she once again went for a human look with primarily Mirage products. She used the new MCM-M1/008 as the core, a new Mirage model featuring an overbooster and a sleek design similar to her MX/002 core. She also equipped the new MAM-MX/MDD arm, giving the AC angular shoulder guards and light spikes on the elbow. The legs are the new MLM-XA3/LW, a sleek set of legs that offered good speed and could take a load. She chose the CHD-09-OXI, a new Crest head that featured the latest in lightweight, high strength armor plating and featuring an impressive radar range that only a back radar could provide. The boosters are the same FLEET model that she used for Hunter III, with the same generator and radiators as before. For her weapon systems, she purchased three Crest weapons. She ordered the CWM-36-4 medium missile launcher, the compact CWR-S50 small rockets, and the CWG-ARF-180 combat burst rifle. She decided that she would use her Moonlight she purchased last time for the left arm. Once they were done buying the parts for Hunter IV and checking for when it would be ready, the two left the shop and made their way out of the garage, only to bump into a familiar red head.

"Pilan," Tanja said in surprise. "How have you been?" Pilan glared at both Nick and Tanja with her unnatural red eyes, surprising both Ravens. "Pilan?"

"Fine," she muttered, in a tone that didn't quite match her normal voice. Her eyes averted to her AC, which was standing next to an identical one.

"I thought you only had the one AC," Nick said.

"This one," Pilan pointed to the one that had an A under 'Zeo Matrix,' "belonged to the pilot that broke in." Her tone was far to monotonous. She then walked towards her AC. "By the way," she said as she turned around to face the Ravens. "The Cortex is seeking Ravens to go to Lunar to fight Neo Core on their own turf. If your interested, you should sign up." She then turned and entered her core. Nick was about to ask her another question when her cockpit sealed. Her AC was activated and left the Garage.

'Is it just me,' both Ravens thought simultaneously, 'or is there something bothering her.' They glanced at each other for a brief moment before leaving the garage.

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Chris and Sara were standing outside of the door to the Breaker's room when Tanja and Nick managed to get back up to their level. The two reacted the instant they saw them. "Tanja," Sara exclaimed in glee, "It's great to see you out of the hospital."

"Good to be back," she replied, grinning slightly. Her eyes adverted to Chris, who was currently greeting Nick. Unfortunately for him, Nick smashed him into a wall.

"That's for yesterday," Nick muttered before turning back to Tanja. He then noticed where they were standing. "Sara, what are you doing standing outside your room anyway?"

"Eddy and Linda," she murmured.

"What about them?" Tanja asked confused.

"Well, Chris tried to get them to drink some of his alcohol," Sara started. Tanja and Nick started to advance on Chris. "Before you think of punishing him, will you two hear me out!" she yelled, startling the two. Positive that they wouldn't pound the Raven, she continued. "Anyway, they declined and smashed his liquor over his head. What we didn't know is that his liquor is potent enough to intoxicate by just breathing in the air around the liquid." She paused for a second. "I brought them into our room to try and have then rest it out of their system, but they found their way into your liquor cabinet in their drunken states." She pointed at Tanja when she said that part before continuing. "By time I knew what was happening, they both threw Chris and me out and locked the door behind them."

"MY LIQUOR!" Tanja yelled, startling the three Ravens. "OUT OF THE WAY!" She tried to get to her door, only to almost fall over. Nick rescued her from a fall and helped her to the door, determined to drag Eddy's drunken ass out of there. She took out her key card and unlocked the door. They both looked into the room, which was darkened due to the lights being out. The instant they entered, they could smell the booze the two had opened and consumed, but they could also smell something else in the air. They cautiously entered the room and easily found the two they were looking for, namely because they were making mild noises on the furthest bed. Before they could get any closer, both of them were hit by something soft, which covered their faces. They removed the items and looked at them, immediately identifying them as undergarments belonging to both Ravens. They looked at each other in the dark, looked at the bed, then slowly left the room. When the door was closed and locked behind them, they simply slumped against the wall, their eyes wide as saucers.

"Yo," Chris said in an attempt to get their attention, "why did you leave without Eddy or Linda?"

The two didn't respond immediately. When Sara asked them the same question, they both murmured simultaneously, "You don't want to know." Confused, both Sara and Chris inched towards the door, forgetting that they needed Tanja's key to open it. That is when they both heard a low moan of pleasure, followed by a series of noises. Realizing what they heard, the backed away from the door.

"They aren't doing what I think they're doing," Sara said, "are they?"

"Both of you," Nick said, "Can use my room tonight." He struggled to get himself up, partially because he was trying to help Tanja up as well. "I'm gonna get some fresh air," he murmured, trying to get Tanja to use Sara for support. He turned his head towards her when he felt her not getting off.

"I think I'll go with you," she muttered, leaning her weight onto his shoulder. They both moved off down the hall, leaving two confused Ravens in the hall.

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"Nick, what are we doing back in the garage?" Tanja asked fifteen minutes later.

"I wasn't kidding about getting fresh air," he responded, helping her move towards the changing room. "I'm taking my AC to the surface to try and relax." He looked into her eyes. "If you still feel like coming, you might as well get your pilot suit on, otherwise Deathsythe won't let you in." Tanja nodded and started to get changed, while Nick left her to get his own on. Once she was finished, she used the wall for support, although she did chance trying to walk without it before she got to the exit with success. Nick was already waiting there. "Think you can chance walking to my AC without help?"

"I think so," she said. She led the way to the black AC, Nick following her in case she lost her balance. They easily got there without mishap and got into the AC. It may have been designed for one person, but there is plenty of room within the cockpit for a second person to squeeze in. While Tanja found a spot to get comfortable, in case Nick boosted it to the max, Nick began the startup procedures. He activated the generator first, followed by the radiator and the main computer system, allowing the computer to finish the startup.

"Welcome, Grim Reaper," the AC said in a feminine voice. "Deathsythe VIII is fully operational, currently running on normal mode. Scanning unit..." Nick made sure Tanja was safely secured in the cockpit before he sat at the control seat and fastened himself in.

"Deathsythe, remove the machine gun." Nick said.

"Acknowledged," the computer responded. Mechanical arms grasped the machine gun tightly before the AC released it. "MWG-MG/800 removed." There was a beep at the console. "Warning: unidentified biosign in the cockpit."

"Deathsythe, override biosign warning for Raven Tanja."

"Processing...vioce print of Raven Tanja requested. State name of unit."

'I didn't think that I would be asked to confirm myself in an AC,' she thought to herself. "Deathsythe."

"Processing...Raven Tanja recorded. Scanning biosign Welcome aboard, Tanja," the computer said.

"Thank you," Tanja replied.

"Alright then, let's go," Nick said, motioning his AC forward towards the lift. It cautiously stepped towards it and was lifted up towards the surface of the planet. A starry, moonless night greeted them, which became blotched out as the screen turned green. "What the hell..."

"Night vision mode engaged," Deathsythe said. Nick muttered something as he turned the unit left. Once he found where he was going, he eased the mech off of the lift and let it touch down onto the solid ground.

"Alright, Tanja. Here we go." The roar of boosters was heard as the unit accelerated forward, the unit disappearing into the night.

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Sorry for the long wait, problems always seem to rise. No matter, this chapter is done, and the next one is coming up, reguardless of how many reviews I get for this one, because i just like all the reviewers who always come back for more.

Bloodykitsune: feeling's mutual, hope to hear from you again

Xardion: I already know. As you see, though, Tanja is down, but certainly not out yet.

i may make a sequel if this actually lasts to completion. till next time


	10. Chapter 9: PreMission

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 9:

Deathscythe VIII sped across the sandy plains near the cortex for about an hour before it reached its intended destination. The unit crouched down on one knee and opened the cockpit hatch, allowing its occupants to disembark. Nick climbed out with ease and waited near the opening to the cockpit for Jen to get out. She looked in surprise at where they were. "Wow…a natural beach," she said. The waves crashed into the sandy shore, the sound of birds not too far off.

"I've been coming here for a while now," Nick said, hopping down to the ground from the hatch of his AC. Jen gave him a questioning look before he landed, then prepared to hop down herself. He looked up just in time to notice what she was going to do. "H-hey!" He got under her in time to catch her bridal style, his knees shook slightly as he prevented them both from hitting the ground hard. Jen smiled at him.

"Thanks for catching me," she said, standing on her own feet once Nick let go of her legs with his one arm.

"You really shouldn't be jumping like that so soon," Nick said in annoyance.

She frowned at him. "I don't like waiting for my body to heal before I can do anything." The two got closer to the ocean and sat down next to each other in silence for a moment. "So, how did you learn of this place anyway?" she asked.

Nick looked up at the stars. "The day that I had to attack a Mirage base out here."

"OH yeah! Your AC returned with seaweed all over it for returning from that mission underwater," Jen said with a smile. "I still can't believe the Cortex thought your AC was a bio-weapon." She giggled a bit. "Deathsythe VII looked so much like one of those old monsters from a monster movie."

"Don't remind me," Nick said in irritation. "I had to trek back from the base underwater, otherwise the explosion would have killed me." He stared up at the stars. "Kiseragi couldn't get their transport there in time. To make matters worse, its wreckage was spotted in no man's land."

'The silent line,' she thought. "So, I'm assuming you found this spot when you finally were able to get out of the sea, right?" Nick nodded. "Do your teammates know of it?"

"No, they don't. For now, this place is sorta like my private retreat when I get tensed up and need to think." He glanced at Jen. "You're the only other one I know that knows of this place."

Jen looked at him and smiled. "Makes me feel kinda special." The two laid down in the sand, satisfied with each other's company for the time being. Then Jen thought of something. "Nick, there's going to be hell at the cortex tomorrow."

He looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Linda's going to figure out what happened tonight when her buzz wears off. When that happens, Ed's going to pay a price, regardless of the fact that they both were drunk tonight." Nick visibly twitched.

"When we see Chris tomorrow," Nick started, "we better try and convince him not to make his alcohols anymore. Those do more harm than conventional liquor." Jen nodded. The two just laid there for a while longer before they heard a beep on their watches. They tapped their watches and said they were there.

"Grim Reaper. Tanja. Where the hell are you?" They recognized the voice as Lians.

"We're outside the cortex enjoying some fresh air," Nick said. "You should consider doing the same once in a while."

"Another time, perhaps." Lians checked her paperwork. "We got another mission lined up for you both. It's a joint operation being hosted by the earth corporations and the cortex to all available ravens. We're going to be sending starships over to Lunar and take the fight to them. We're going to do what Mars's Concord raven division failed to do and take them out. We would like for you both to participate."

Jen glared at her watch. "You've got to be joking. Once we're there, there is no way we can get repaired and resupplied. Besides, five space cruisers could barely even get half their ravens off in time because of the defenses."

"That is where you're wrong," Lians said. "These ships are in the same amount of danger as before, but they are armed and armored enough to protect themselves. Once they set down on Lunar, they will act as your nest for repairs, supplies, and mission objectives." She looked at her paperwork. "Besides, both of your teams applied for this mission over twelve hours ago, as did the Martian."

The two looked at each other. Nick was still near Jen's hospital bed about twelve hours ago. They looked at each other a moment, noticing the same look in each other's eyes. "Mission accepted."

"Understood. Report to the space port at 1800 hours tomorrow. Lians out." Nick sighed as he laid back down on the beach.

"Amazing," he said. "We barely survive an attack from Neo core, and they already are sending us out."

Jen looked at her. "If we don't deploy to them, they will just keep sending their forces on us." She looked at the ocean. "Worse thing is, we are losing human lives in this conflict, while they are just losing computer chips. We would eventually wear down and be crushed."

"So, we are to settle the score for all they have done to earth and mars then." They both relaxed a little too long on the beach, for they eventually fell asleep next to each other.

-

Linda groggily awoke when her clock started to chirp. She got up only to fall back down as her head throbbed like crazy. 'Ow, my head,' she thought, trying to rub her forehead. She tried again a few moments later, a bit slower than normal to avoid her pain getting worse. She looked around her room to notice that it was a mess. Several liquor bottles are scattered around, all of them empty, as were some clothes. It took her a while to figure out that half of those were her clothes. 'What the hell…. What are my clothes doing on the floor? And whose clothes are those?' She started to get out of her bed when she felt a slight draft, discovering in shock that she was naked in her own bed. She covered herself with the blanket while uttering an eep, making an attempt to get her clothes back on.

She never saw Eddy stir with the blanket offering him warmth missing. He tried groping for the blanket unconsciously, managing to grab it before it slid completely off the bed. Linda felt her blanket snag before she gave it a tug, dragging the end off of the bed, along with Eddy. A loud thump was heard. Linda looked in the direction of the sound, while Eddy immediately awoke from slamming into the ground. "What the hell?" he managed to say before noticing Linda's eyes. They both blinked in confusion, but Linda's face was turning red in both embarrassment and anger at what she saw. Eddy felt a draft and looked down. He immediately realized one thing. 'Oh shit… I'm gonna get creamed.'

-

Nick and Jen awoke the next day and started on their way back to the cortex. It took several hours for the unit to arrive back at base, but it got an incoming call just when it was entering. Nick keyed in the communication, not too surprised to see it was Greg. "Hey, old man," Nick said in mild surprise.

Greg grimaced. "Ya damned kids r all alike. No respect fer elders." He sighed a moment on screen before looking at it again. " 'ave ya seen Tanja anywhere?" Jen tapped the screen, getting the old man's attention. "Ah, there ya are. Yer AC's ready and wait'n fer ya at the shop. Jest thought ya should know."

"Thanks for the update, Greg," Jen said in reply. "I'll be right over as soon as I can."

"Glad to hear it," Greg said before cutting communications. He tapped his counter a few seconds thinking, shrugged, then went to the back to make sure everything was all set. 'I swear them two are a couple,' he thought as he checked his equipment. It took a few minutes before both Nick and Jena entered the shop, the door making a noise that Greg was far too familiar with and made him get to his counter. "Tat was quick," he said to the two, blinking in surprise. He stood there looking at the two while they looked back at him. This lasted about a minute.

"Greg," Jen said, "is something wrong?"

"Ya both sure ya not a couple?" Jen turned red in the face with surprise, but it was hard to figure out if Nick was red with embarrassment or anger. "Never min, never min. Jen, yer AC is in the hanger, waitin fer ya. Come with meh." Nick went back to his AC to make sure everything was ready, selecting whatever equipment would be necessary for the new mission scheduled for later that day. Jen was taught about her new capabilities with her AC, then was allowed to leave for the garage. Once she arrived, she did a systems check on her new AC as well as deciding on what equipment to bring with her. She was done within ten minutes and started to leave when she noticed Nick standing in his garage area. It didn't take much thought to know what he was doing there still.

His back was facing her, eying the beaten up and devastated AC that now sat idle next to Deathsythe VIII. "You miss piloting her, don't you?" Jen asked quietly.

Nick didn't even move at all. "I was just remembering all that I had accomplished in this machine within a whole year," he said simply in reply, still looking at the wrecked AC that was Deathsythe VII. "Yet, I realize that the mechanics won't dare try to repair this machine, meaning it will remain as it is until its metal corrodes to nothing, its purpose for existence completely stripped from it."

Jen sighed. "I'm hoping you have had your gear ready and haven't been looking at your old AC this whole time."

Nick turned to her, a small grin on his face. "Are you kidding? I've been set for almost fifteen minutes now." He turned back to his AC. "And when I get back, I'll be doing my best to get Deathsythe VII back in the arena once more."

Jen looked at him in a sad manner. "You're going to waste your life after this mission to bring that back online?" She sighed. "All of its systems are fried, the armor melted, the essentials barely there. It would be impossible to even get it fixed." She turned to leave. "Even worse. Even if you can get it fixed without just buying new parts and replacing the unit altogether, it would already be obsolete from being technologically outclassed. Not just that, but you probably won't even find a woman that you actually love keeping yourself here."

"You're probably right," Nick said, turning to follow her. "But I'd definitely have at least a girlfriend when I'm finally done fixing it. And once I'm done, I'll make sure it can kick the shit out of the new competition." Jen looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"As cocky as ever, I see," she said in response. Neither one spoke to each other for some time as they walked towards their rooms. They figured it would be for the best to actually rest up a bit before they leave on their mission.

It was Nick that noticed something odd. "Hey, Jen."

"What?"

"Please tell me that we aren't the only ones in this hall." Jen looked around and noticed. Normally, several ravens would be waking around. They would either be chatting to someone they know, running to the hanger, or just lounge around out there. Instead, the room was barren of any form of life.

"That's odd," Jen said as she looked. Nick approached his room and tried opening the door, only to notice that it was locked from within. Jen noticed this too with her door, except it was locked from the outside and had its password changed. Nick started to bang on the door. "Hey, open up." It opened a moment later, revealing Chris.

"Yo, Nick. Wassup." Nick peeked inside and noticed that Sara was also in the room as well, fiddling with the computer.

"Chris," Nick said in a threatening voice. "Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on here?"

Chris looked at him, then looked at Sara, then back at Nick. "I didn't get laid by her, if that's what you mean," he said. "We've been stuck in this room since last night, considering Ed and Linda."

Jen walked to the open door. "Well, they aren't in that room now. The door's locked from out here. Now, why the hell is everyone not in the…" She stopped as she heard footsteps in the hall, namely of someone running. There also seemed to be some yelling as well. "What the hell.." She and Nick said in union as they looked down the hall. Ed skidded into their line of sight, a look of pure fright on his face as he ran down the hall. The two looked at his advancing form un puzzlement.

Chris noticed too, his face turning pale. "You two better get in here," he said shakily. "NOW!" The two didn't move, they were too preoccupied by him running like a bat out of hell. That's when Linda also came skidding down the hall a mild distance behind him, a sledgehammer held firmly in her grip.

"HOLY SHIT!" Nick managed to say before Jen realized the danger and shoved both of them in. Chris locked the door behind them. Ed stopped at the door in an attempt to enter, only to be frustrated by the lock.

"EDDDD!" He looked behind him in time to see her swinging her hammer at him. His face turned pure white as he narrowly dodged it and ran, a loud bash heard as her hammer connected with the metal door. She continued her pursuit, while Nick stared in surprise at the dent that now was in the door. He glanced at Jen, both breathing in shock.

"What…the…HELL…was…that…" Nick asked between breaths. Jen managed to catch her breath and shook her head.

"THAT…is when Linda's pissed," she said with ease.

Sara nodded. "Best if we stay out of their way. One of them will give out eventually."

"Hope they both can still pilot their AC's when they're done," Nick said as he walked to his bed. He crawled into it and rested his head on the pillow. "I'm taking a nap. Wake me in about an hour."

Jen yawned herself and decided to take a nap as well. She noticed that Chris's bed is all wet, probably by some drink he had, while Eddy's was missing some sheets. Groaning, she walked to Nick's bed and tapped him on the shoulder. He opened an eye to see her standing near him. "Is it ok if I take a nap here? The other beds have problems." Nick propped his head off the pillow to see the other two beds, noticing their condition. "Crud. Chris, where's Eddy's bed sheets?"

"In the wash," he replied. "He would kill us for not washing them every month, and that month ran out today." Nick groaned again at this bit of news. Looking at Jen again, he scooted over and allowed her to sleep on the end he vacated. Smiling slightly, Jen climbed onto that end and rested her head on the pillow. Nick followed suit, but not before noticing Chris's looks.

"Chris. If I hear even one word about this anywhere, you're dead," he said before falling asleep, with Jen not too far behind.

Chris glared at him. 'At least THAT plan went without a hitch,' he thought as he dug into his fridge for a bottle of booze. 'Can't believe Sara's idea worked better than mine. Now I owe her a thousand credits.'

-

Zeo Streak II entered the Garage at 13:00 that day. The red visor dimmed as the unit followed its routine for shut down, popping open the cockpit and allowing Pilan to hop out. She followed the walkway to the AC part shop, spotting Greg at his usual place. He looked up as he heard the door open. "Well, hallo there, Pilan," he said. "Wat brings ya here dis time?"

Pilan smiled as she walked up to him. "You're my uncle. Don't I have the right to visit you whenever I please?"

Greg nodded. "True tat, true tat. But I doubt, tat's all ye want."

Pilan smirked. "You got me," she said. "I wanted to know if I could borrow your AC's grenade launcher for the Lunar mission." Greg gave her a grim look. "I'll buy you a new one if anything happens to it, plus half the credit's the new one costs." Greg sighed.

"A'right. Ya got a deal." He started heading for the back of the shop. "Get yer AC over here. Tis thing doesn't move itself, ya know."

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO sorry that I haven't posted in a while. A lot of stuff has occurred between my last chapter and now. (corrupted data, near computer crash, school work, new computer installation floppy drive missing, no less, and getting sidetracked.) I can't guarentee chapters as often as before, but I'll do my best. And yes, they are going into space next chapter (finally. Someone asked about that a while ago.) Till then. I thank any reader that is still interested in this fanfic.


	11. Chapter 10: Liftoff

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 10: Liftoff

Nick and Jen were awakened by Chris at around 1600 hours, for they needed to move to the launch area in time for 1800. The small group made last minute packing arrangements, namely some spare raven uniforms for their small trip through space and their estimated time down on Lunar. They were planning on getting Eddy and Linda, but it seemed that that was already covered. She had failed to smash him with the sledge hammer she was hefting around, but he had crashed into an opened door in the process of checking his distance from her, effectively knocking him out cold for several hours since about 1430 hours. He woke up in time to prepare for the flight, but neither he or Linda chose to speak much.

The two teams reported to the garage, not overly surprised to see that Zeo Streak II was missing from its hanger again. They entered their cockpits and stored the gear they would wear in their compartments within their AC's as their units warmed up. Several of them were taking additional weapon systems for their AC's with them, but only the small arms could be held by most of them. The heavier weapons were left to Chris, who had remained stubborn on converting his tankish AC to a legged one. They left the garage within about fifteen minutes after ensuring that all the equipment they needed and wanted was accounted for. The group moved out in pairs. Devil and Big Shot moved together, considering that they were among the heaviest of the group and needed each other's assistance in order to take all of the heavier equipment they chose to bring, especially considering that Devil chose a variety of cannons and missiles for the upcoming battles. Reaper and Tanja would have moved together, but they were in transit with their faster partners from their teams, for Sprint and Demon couldn't stand being next to each other at the moment.

Reaper was watching the group as well as his Misteye would allow when his monitor beeped an alert. He pivoted on the spot and noticed a sliver AC on their path. His systems were warning him that the AC was in combat mode, but half the equipment on it wasn't recognizable by his battle systems. Reaper glared at the unit. 'The group's probably hearing the same music,' he thought, noticing a few looking at the unit as well. His console beeped again, indicating an incoming transmission. He keyed it in while watching the AC, a pop up appearing on the side with a silver emblem with a soaring raven in the middle.

"Unidentified AC group, this area is restricted. Identify yourselves or be fired upon."

Tanja keyed in on a separate line to speak to Reaper. "Don't worry about him, he's just guarding the launch area." She then keyed in to the silver AC. "This is team Breaker leader, Tanja. Currently escorting Ravens Sprint and Big Shot to the launch site."

The silver AC glared at Hunter IV and analyzed the information. "Data confirmed. The other three aren't accounted for in your team."

Reaper keyed in. "That's because the other three are mine. Team Doom leader, Grim Reaper, escorting Ravens Demon and Devil to the launch site." Again, the silver AC glared at Deathscythe VIII as it analyzed the data.

"Data confirmed. Both teams registered for classified mission entry." The pilot responded, advancing on the group at conventional thruster speed and getting to them within seconds. The group noticed that the unit was unusual, using what appeared to be state-of -the -art parts. It is equipped with an STO core, but it's over boosters had been removed from the core. It is also using the newer Crest legs and an energy resistant arm part, not to mention what appeared to be a heavier eye variant head. Nick's AC identified the part to resemble a Chrome corporation part called the Redeye, a curved front head that was good on any AC type in that age. It also seemed to be wielding the 800 round Mirage gun, a rather light laser cannon never seen before, and two rather odd weapons. One looked like a missile pod on his shoulder, while the one on its left arm appeared to be some sort of shield. "Just call me Chrome. My job here is to help safeguard the launch site from enemy attack and to assist in escorting AC's to the site." He turned around and led the group. "Follow me, so that the others won't bother you."

" 'Others?'" Devil and Big Shot asked.

Chrome's head tilted towards their direction. "This IS a joint operation," he replied. "All the corporations hired their best pilots to ensure the safe launch of all ships." The groups suddenly had four windows open up on their screens, revealing an AC in each one. "Crest brought out their ace operative. His name's Genobee or something. We don't have much on him or his records, but he has quite a reputation. Uses nothing but Crest equipment, even their radiators and generator. His AC, Dual Face, is equipped with only a rifle, blade, and two long range grenade launchers, which all seem to fit comfortably on that middle weight unit." The group heard him grunt. "Don't know how the hell he can move so fast with all that shit holding him down, though. Spotted him chasing off some guy named Joker (AC3: he was among the arena pilots and is an ally you can call upon to fight the MT in the flooded city sector. Uses hover tech, making him pretty fast), firing his grenades on the move. Called those 'warning shots.' Needless to say, anything getting near him is toast." A blue AC was then highlighted. "Mirage summoned some kook named 22. No beef on him either, but he is ranked 22nd best pilot here in the cortex."

"What the hell's he doing here, then?" Big shot asked.

"He only accepts missions and battles anyone that challenges his rank, but he has the skills to make it to number 1."

"Fat chance," Reaper replied.

"You're in no danger, first ranker. I said he's a kook for a reason. Says he likes more 2s than anything else. Guess he thinks it safer to assume such a low rank in the arena or something. Anyway, his AC uses Mirage's equipment only. Hell, he's even giving one of their experimental head parts a go. Very fast and packs a good punch in close quarters, but only uses his launcher on distant enemies and uses a multi missile system on those just out of slashing range." A yellow AC was then highlighted. "This guy, no one knows about. Apparently one of Kiseragi's private aces. He only seems to appear whenever Kiseragi was in trouble during battle. He is the only other one here that uses multiple corporate weapons, but sticks to Kiseragi for his FCS, generator, and radiator. He prefers long range, based on the sniper and long range cannons on him, but packs a small blade on the off chance someone gets too close." He remained silent as they trekked on.

Tanja broke the silence. "What about you? Your choice in parts is rather odd."

"Me?" he asked. "I just help the cortex a lot. Almost everything on this unit is still experimental. You can expect this stuff sometime in the future, provided it passes the field tests."

Reaper then spoke. "What the hell did you do to your core?"

"What do you mean?"

"That is an over boost core, but my scanners cannot detect the high strength thrusters required to access the ability."

"That's because I removed it myself. I'm a bit old fashioned, you could say, and I never use the boosters anyway," Chrome replied as he turned back to the launch site they were approaching. "Lightens up the core a bit, but Crest thinks this core needs something else to ensure pilot survival. I tell them do it yourselves." The Launch bay started coming into view. "Alright, here's how it's done here. There are only twelve ravens going down onto Lunar, everyone else has already arrived. Because of how the ships were designed, only four Ravens are allowed on each one. Ship three is already filled, and it is up to me to sort you guys into your ships." He scanned the entire group. "I sure hope those weapons the two heavies back there have aren't for one AC. That would be a waste of room on the ship and even fewer weapons available on Lunar if anything should happen."

"Nope," Devil replied. "Only three of these carried weapons are mine. The rest are used by the others."

Chrome smiled from behind his visor, which isn't visible on the comm. channels. "Good." He points his shield at Big Shot and Devil. "You two are to drop the weapons into the remaining two ships and board Ship Two. Your fellow ravens are already on board. I believe one is Royal Mist, and the other one is some Martian girl."

"Oh, whoopee doo," Devil said sarcastically. "Figures I'm roomed with the crazed bitch."

"I heard that, jackass," Pilan said, cutting into the comm. lines with an angered face on her comm. window. "You're lucky I have to work with you on this mission, so I'll just clobber you when you get in here."

Chrome glared at the intrusion. "I can handle them, Raven. Get back to your duties." He glared at his console as he saw her pull her one eyelid down with her middle finger, sticking her tongue out before closing the connection. "Anyway, you both are in that ship. The rest of you are in ship one." The heads of Quikdeath V and Speed Demon looked in each other's direction before both units turned their backs on each other. This didn't go unnoticed. "Is…there a problem?"

Hunter IV's OXI head and Deathsythe VIII's Misteye looked at each other a moment before looking at Chrome. "Sorry about that. Those two kind of aren't on the best of terms today. It shouldn't be a problem," Tanja and Reaper said at the same time.

"Right. Well, I have to get back to my post," Chrome replied. "Can't leave a gap in the defenses for too long. Who knows if Neo Core has sent reinforcement units in yet or not." With that, he dashed away from the group, who immediately went to work loading their equipment onto the ships.

Nick and Jen settled down in the ship about a half hour later. They and the rest of their team had finished loading their equipment onto the ships and have their AC's docked within their cargo holds. They were sitting in their room on board the ship. The ship isn't all that big at all. The cargo hold is large enough to hold up to six standard size AC's and easily carry about half the weapons that Greg holds in his shop. There also is a cockpit for the crew of the ship as well as a couple quarters for both the crew and passengers. Unfortunately for them, the one room was reserved for the crew and engineers aboard, so all four ravens were stuck in the same room. The duo looked at Linda and Eddy, who literally had sparks flying between their eyes. The sighed, realizing this was going to be a long trip unless those two could be on friendlier terms.

"Attention, ravens. We will be taking off in a few moments. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride while you can."

All eyes glared at the speaker in the room. "He's definitely jolly about this," Nick muttered. He knew how this ship was going to take off. There is a launch ramp located in the facility that they are at, a relic from before the Great Destruction. It was used during the Murakumo era to send colony ships to the moon, now called Lunar, and Mars. This thing is supposed to increase the ship's launch speed ten fold, giving it the push required to send it through the atmosphere without the use of additional fuel tanks, such as a relic shuttle rumored to be in a place called Neo Issac used to use. Essentially, the launch ramp is the equivalent of a XXL potato launcher, and it feels like it as well.

"Alright. Avenger III is going to launch first, followed by Decimation and Tactic. All systems for ship launcher are green."

"Rodger. Avenger III being taxied into position," the captain replied.

"Everything seems clear. Avenger III is cleared for launch."

'Everything seems to be running smoothly,' Jen thought. 'I hope everything else goes okay as well.'

Chrome was standing station at his post when he heard the engines of Avenger III start up as the ship prepared to launch. He couldn't watch, though, for his job doesn't end until all the ships take off. That's when he got the call.

"What the…Oh shit!" Gunshots were heard on the comm. Chrome identified the voice as the Kiseragi AC.

"What's the problem?"

"NEO CORE! THEY SENT SOMETHING…AAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHH!" Static covered the channel as Chrome's indicator noted that the AC was gone.

"Great, so they have made their move," Chrome said. He flipped open the other channels. "Heads up, Ravens. Kiseragi's pilot is down. Genobee, move into a delta formation towards me to fill up his spot."

"Negative, Ravens," their operator interrupted. "We just detected the unit before the AC went down. It's only one unit, but it wasted his AC with only one attack. Fall back towards the base on an intercept course with the target. Remember, the ships and launch ramp are to be protected at all costs."

"Genobee, I read. Moving to intercept."

"22, I'm a ways out, but I'll try to get there as fast as possible."

"Great. Just pray that Genobee and I aren't dead when you show," Chrome sneered as he boosted as fast as he could to intercept. He spotted the target long before his head part could even scan it onto radar. It is a very large MT, and Chrome recognized it. He studied too much of the past, but he could easily tell that was from a long time ago. It was extremely long and sleek, with two arms protruding from the domelike front of the machine. It seemed to look like a tadpole, if the arms were ignored. A long range rifle was slung under the unit's visor, and is equipped with several sets of vertical missile launchers. "What the hell? Operator, the target is an old Phantasma. Kiseragi should have been able to handle it before it could get too close."

"It doesn't matter, Raven! Regardless of how old it may be, it still took out an AC and is on an intercept with the launch site. Just stop it!" Chrome sneered as he slammed the channel off.

"Genobee, the target's a Phantasma. Something has to be up with it to take out an AC so fast."

"Understood," Genobee said with an emotionless voice. "I'm ready." Chrome had barely noticed that he was already in the unit's way, his one grenade launcher armed and ready to fire. The assault began quickly, with Genobee striving for first blood by firing the launcher into the front of the unit. He then fired another, but Phantasma just dodged the shot and retaliated with its rifle, which really was a long range plasma cannon. Genobee swore as he barely dodged the attack, the shoulder guard armor on the left already half gone. Chrome stopped and armed his laser cannon. His FCS couldn't get a lock on the target because of its distance, but he knew how far away it was. He fired the laser, scoring a hit on the rear of the unit. He prepared to fire again when he noticed something bad, two titan missiles were coming for him.

"SHIT!" he yelled as he forced his AC onto its feet again and boosted away from the missiles, noticing another Phantasma. "Another one?" he yelled as he pulled back, waiting for the missiles to self detonate. He charged again once they exploded, this time engaging the second one with his machine gun. "22,get here now, there are TWO Phantasmas. Repeat, TWO Phantasmas!" Chrome swore as he glided left and right using his thrusters to evade the plasma rounds fired his way, while having little luck hitting at his range. He flipped a switch and armed his experimental missiles on his right shoulder. 'Lets see how Kiseragi's micro missiles work,' he thought as the targeted locked on. The pod has more missiles, but the system surprised the pilot as its one lock fired a salvo of missiles, easily using up 10 of his ammo reserves, but the sight of the target getting slammed on several sides was worth it. 'So I only get ten locks, then I'm out,' he thought again as he primed another salvo. That's when he noticed his target coming straight for him. "Shit!" he yelled as he activated his boosters, just barely evading being rammed and finding himself landing on the Phantasma.

Genobee was busy with his own Phantasma, and he was having some better luck. He was having trouble with the vertical missiles that the unit fired on occasion, but he has been getting luckier with his grenade shots. He boosted to the side as his target attempted to ram him, firing yet another grenade into its side and decimating a claw. His grin came a little too soon, for his radar detected another missile salvo from the phantasma. He boosted towards the target, getting hit by a couple missiles as he fired his rifle now. The unit turned to fire back at Genobee, but couldn't fire any more missiles. Instead, it primed up for its next attack, generating a series of lights that started to head for it. Genobee noticed and was confused by the tactic, but decided to strafe to the side to evade the apparent attack. His timing couldn't have been better, as a high powered laser beam shot out in all directions at varying angles and swept for Dual Face, who barely was able to stay one step ahead of the beams. Once the attack ceased, Genobee fired a final grenade into the Phantasma's side, detonating the boosters and grounding it into the ground. He boosted in and aimed his rifle at the cockpit. "You're finished," he said as he squeezed the trigger.

Chrome managed to get a good footing and armed his left arm weapon. Mirage's experimental laser blade shield, codenamed TAUROS, ignited with a bluish white light rivaling the Moonlight and was rammed into the cockpit of the Phantasma. The unit ceased all aggressive action, but continued on a straight course for the launch site. "Chrome here, target is dead. Just have to stop its death movement now."

"Understood. Genobee finished his target already, but we haven't heard a thing from 22," the operator replied. "Avenger III and Decimation have already launched, and Tactic is about to go as well. Chrome, you're closest to the launch area. Make sure nothing happens now."

"Rodger." Chrome ignited his laser blade again as the Phantasma drew nearer to the launch bay, preparing to cut the engines off once he got close enough. He never got the chance as he heard the lock on warning go off. He forced his AC off the Phantasma, which then took the cannon hit and exploded violently. Chrome roughly landed on his feet and looked at his target, a tan AC with an abnormally large Karasawa rifle, laser blade, and a set of cannons on its back. Even worse, it was big, namely a model similar to what Reaper and the others battled almost a week ago with Raven. "Oh shit."

"So, you're here defending as well?" an unknown voice asked in an evil voice. "Your ally wasn't all that tough against me." Chrome's scanners detected the remains of 22's AC a little ways out. Zoom was required to see the unit, and it showed its status. The unit was beaten up severely, exposing the vulnerable mechanics behind some armored plates as well as shattered and exposed joints. The worse bit of damage was in the MX-02 core, where a gaping hole was seen going right through the cockpit, with evidence of the shot being from a laser. "You stand as much of a chance as he did." His machine advanced. "You have only two options, stand aside or be annihilated!"

Chrome grinned. "Guess I go out fighting, then," he replied, firing a salvo of his micro missiles at the enemy. It didn't even move an inch as the missiles came in, for the unit fired missile defense lasers at each one, destroying them easily. Chrome swore as he moved to the side, just avoiding the laser rifle round by a hair. He fired another salvo of missiles, only to see the same results as last time.

"HAaaaaaaaaaaaahhahaha! Pathetic," the unit laughed, firing another round at chrome, who dodged yet again. "You can't stop the Armageddon, it's invincible."

'At least I can slow you down, if anything,' Chrome thought as he charged Armageddon, locking on with his missiles for another shot. Armageddon saw this and fired into Chrome's path. Chrome barely dodged as his shoulder armor was sheared off, getting close enough for a blade attack. "Eat this!" Chrome fired his missiles, followed up by his blade making a clean slice at the target. The missiles slammed into Armageddon before the defense system could intercept and he got hit by the blade as well, but there barely was a scratch from any weapon, even the laser blade.

"That tickled," Armageddon laughed, grabbing chrome's AC by the core. "MY TURN!" He lifts up the AC and throws it into a nearby building, which collapsed around the silver AC. "Now for the ship." He advanced for the platform, but was halted as he took a hit on his sword arm from a laser round. The unit's head turned towards the source, the building wreckage. Chrome was crouched down in the rubble with the laser cannon armed. The rear of his AC was dented badly, and he had the missile pod crushed upon impact. That was jettisoned, but the laser cannon was still working, for he fired another round into the unit's core. "You can't win, mercenary," Armageddon growled, firing another laser round at Chrome. He couldn't evade in time, losing the laser cannon to the energy round. Chrome forced his Ac out of the rubble and charged at Armageddon again, machine gun armed and chattering at his target. The rounds were just bouncing off of the armored hide of the machine, which retaliated with its cannons. Chrome resorted to an evasion tactic, strafing left and right in the nick of time to avoid the nasty grenades fired. He then managed to move behind the large machine and fire on the rear, only to be dismayed as his bullets ricocheted off the AC again.

"Why won't you go down?" Chrome yelled as he charged to slice again, only to be intercepted as Armageddon spun around and slammed Chrome's gun arm hard, sending the middleweight a small distance away again with a shattered arm. Chrome and Armageddon were about to finish their bout when they heard the whining of engines. They turned their heads in time to see the Tactic take off, accelerated across the launch ramp with enough speed to clear the atmosphere in a matter of minutes.

"Mission complete, Chrome. All the ships made it safely into space." the operator said.

Armageddon glared at the crippled machine with its menacing visor. "Be grateful for your mission, Raven, for you have made me fail. But know this, next time we meet, we will finish this, provided you survive that long." With that, Armageddon fired his weapons one last time at Chrome and boosted away, and chrome barely dodged them all. His 'eye' glared at the retreating form from behind the smoke of the final attack.

"If we meat again, we will have no choice," Chrome said before flicking on his comm. "Operator, this is Chrome. My AC is damaged out here, requesting pickup."

"Atmosphere is cleared, Ravens," the pilot said over the ship comms. "We should be at lunar by tomorrow, so a little rest would do you lot some good."

Nick tapped the comm. "Understood, Reaper out." He turned to the only three ravens on the ship, aside from himself. "Well, might as well get some rest. We'll have a long day tomorrow." Jen quickly agreed, while Edd and Linda stayed rather mute. They quickly found their quarters and entered the room, but encountered a problem. Nick was dumbstruck at what he saw, and the two silent ravens had irritated looks on their faces.

Jen was the one that opened her mouth. "There are only two beds…" All four looked at each other, cursing fate for giving them two beds.

That is Chapter 10 I'll try to get the next one up soon

Dedicated to Bloodykitsune, the number one fan on this story. May u stick with me till the very end of the story

even worse, this is the moment of truth. my last best died at chapter 10. let's see if this can do better


	12. Chatper 11: Calm

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 11: Calm

The three ships continued on their way towards Lunar at full speed. It was the eight hour of the trip, and all but one raven was asleep. Onboard the transport ship, Decimantion, the cockpit of Zeo Streak II was open and glowing. Pilan was finishing a little bit of work she needed to get done. She had confirmed when the three ships would arrive to Lunar and deploy them, and she was using what time she had to effectively come up with a plan. She shut down her AC and exited the hanger to return to her 'room.' She was stuck sharing a room with Chris, Sara, and Royal Mist, so it wasn't going to be a great night. 'I just hope they get their message in time….'

The night eye on lunar beeped, getting the owner's attention. Destructor woke up within the cockpit and looked around him. Dark had returned earlier that day and was relaxing with Doom. Shrugging off some sleep, he checked his console. The computer spoke. "Receiving transmittion…shall I play it?"

Destructor sighed. "Who'd the hell….open it." he said sleepily. He looked as a screen opened up, greeting him with a Zeo Matrix symbol. He recognized the emblem, for it said Zeo Streak II under the words. "Pilan…"

Sure enough, Pilan's face appeared on the screen. Her reddish brown eyes pierced him, even though she had sent this some time ago. She showed him a smile. "Destructor, it's Pilan. I'm hoping you're still alive right now, for I'm going to need your help."

'She needs my help?' Destructor thought. 'How the hell can I do that? She's stuck on earth while the three of us up here are on lunar..'

"I'm on my way to Lunar now," she said, lighting up his eyes. "Lunar had declared war on the earth corporations, so earth retaliated by sending a raven team of their own. We'll be arriving at 0900 martian time. Once we're there, we will begin our attack on Neo Core." Her smile died. "I am worried, though, because we lost five ships to those defense turrents and lost so many ravens and personnel because of it. I'm afraid they may take out these ships as well." She looked at the screen. "This is where you come in. Provided you are still able to fight, we will need you to take down the planetary plasma cannons. Its my guess they will begin firing around the time we arrive close enough to even orbit. It will be risky for us if the cannons are still active, for the only way we are getting off of these things is if they land or we are to jump from the access ramp. NO drop pods." She looked sadly at the screen. "I really don't want to be asking to much of you, but you are all I can count on when it comes to taking on the cannons. If this mission fails, Neo core will wipe out both raven nests and the corporations. Earth could barely take one assault, they can't take another, and neither can our homeland." She looked away briefly. "If we get down safely, we can combine our forces and take on Neo Core itself." She reached for the controls again. "I really hope to see you when we get there. Until then, all I can say is this.." She then speaks in a language that hasn't been used for ages, looks sadly at the screen, then cut the transmission.

Destructor looked at the screen for some time, digesting what he had heard. 'She's coming….she's finally coming…' He looked at the clock, his eyes widening. "Shit!" He jumped out of the AC and ran for where Dark and Doom were sleeping. He looked upon the two sleeping right next to each other. He felt bad about having to wake the two now, but he had two. "Hey, get up!" he said a little loudly. Both of them awoke with a start and looked at Destructor with a dark look on their faces.

"What the hell are you waking us up for?" Doom said irritably, her blue dyed hair half covering her steel blue eyes. She is rather athletic in build and only a year younger than Destructor. Dark looked as well, his rust colored eyes looking at his commander under a matt of black hair. His lean and mildly muscular body hid the fact that he was also 17.

"We're moving out now!" Destructor said, moving back to his AC. "Get into your Acs and follow me. I'll brief you on the way." Dark and Doom looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders while sending a quick glare at Destructor, and moved to their units.

Nick and Jen sat in the cockpit of their Acs in silence. They had decided shortly after noticing the crew quarters that it would be better to sleep in their Armored Cores for the time being. They left the room to Eddy and Linda, hoping those two wouldn't start up again with their fighting. "Jen," Nick said finally, breaking the silence. A vid window opened up on his screen, revealing Jen.

"Yeah, Nick?"

"Do you think that just twelve ravens will be enough for this operation?"

She blinked in surprise. "What's this, the ace worrying about a mission?" she asked teasingly, a mild smirk on her face.

Nick couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "Yeah, I guess…" he muttered. Jen frowned at him on the screen, then closed her eyes, sighing.

"Nick, meet me on the floor, now," she said before closing the link. Nick blinked in surprise and looked at his view of the hanger from the Misteye. He saw the core of Hunter IV open and Jen jump down to the floor. He then followed suit and exited his AC as well, landing on the hard metal floor with relative ease. Before he could even look at her, he got the urge to back up quickly. He made his move just in time, for Jen had thrown a punch at him.

"Jen, what are you…" He couldn't finish as she lunged at him with another attack.

"You're the ace here," she said as she threw a kick at him, which was blocked. "You should be thinking about how we can win down there." Nick frowned as he tried going on the offensive.

"Don't you remember what happened with the Mars attack force?" He said, lunging at her and grabbing her wrists to stop her from attacking again. "They never made it to Lunar!" Her eyes widened in surprise, she had never seen the full report on the television. All she knew was that some of the Ravens were still on board the ships when they were destroyed. "They were attacked by surface weapons once the ships were in drop orbit!" He noticed the look on her face, frowning slightly. "They died because they couldn't get out of the ships fast enough, and the few who did were shot out of the sky by the cannons before they could get out of their pods! If you think we're in a different situation, you're wrong!"

Jen looked at Nick in shock. He lightened up. "So far, we have had no contact with that martian attack team, excluding Pilan. By the off chance we DO get through the main defenses, we will need to worry about what Neo core's still got to defend with against an AC strike." He looked at her, then said. "I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but that is how war is played. The enemy will use any and every tactic they can think of to eliminate their threats, even if it means fighting an AC with an overpowered cannon." He turned to his AC. "Listen, just get some sleep and get ready for whatever may happen tomorrow, ok? I'll try my best to keep us alive, but I can't promise anything with certainty." Jen nodded and went into her AC, but couldn't get any sleep at all. Nick had a similar problem, mostly because of how he acted around her.

In the raven's quarters on that ship, Ed and Linda each had a bed. Neither one said a word to each other aside from agreeing on being in different beds. Everyone aboard the three ships were either now getting some sleep or trying to.

I greatly apologize for two things. 1) Not being able to keep chapters flowing. I've been sidetracked and busy since the last post.

2) This chapter is far too short and crappy, but it is all I have to offer. This is proof that I'm still trying to write this thing. I promise, the next chapter should more than make up for my blunders.

Next chapter, the battle begins. I wish to thank all that have stuck by and waited ever so patiently, but I now must ask for a little more, for I can't guarentee the next chapter being out within a week or two. I'll try, but I can't promise. So, till next time…


	13. Chapter 12: Landing

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 12: Landing

"You're kidding!" Doom responded from her AC, Red Death. "Earth sent reinforcements?"

Dark couldn't help but grin. "Finally. Their ACs are supposed to be high end models, right?"

Desturctor sighed. "We may be getting reinforcements from Earth, but that means very little, especially since those turrents are still up." He had gotten his only martian Ravens up as soon as he got word of Earth's counterstrike against Lunar, which was scheduled to land on the moon today. "If those turrents don't go down in the next fifteen minutes, all of them are dead." His AC looked at the Planetary Plasma Cannons set up. "Besides, Pilan's on there.

Both Midnight and Red Death's mechanized heads snapped towards the emeraude. "Pilan?" they said in union.

"The pilot of Zeo Streak II?" Dark asked.

"You can't mean the legendary Nine Breaker's daughter?" Doom backed up.

Destructor groaned loudly on the comm. "That is why I wasn't speaking about it for a while," he said. "I recieved word from her nearly a week ago that she'd be trying to get to lunar after being launched to earth by accident. She only got in contact with me by vid communication, but she's coming with the Earth Ravens."

The two ACs looked at each other with their visors, then looked back at AC Destructor. "Is there a reason you didn't mention her?" Dark asked.

The nighteye glared at AC Midnight for a moment. "Yeah, she is a good friend of mine," he replied. "I was friends with her when we both were five, before the Colony Massacre." Both Dark and Doom cringed in their cockpits. They, just like all the massacre survivors, didn't like talking about what happened. "After that occured, I was her only friend left, and we both looked out for each other..." He stayed quiet.

"Until the Lunar drop..." Doom said, realizing that was the only time he probably couldn't.

"...yeah..." He looked at the timer he set up on his clock. "Shit, we're running late team," Destructor said quickly, dropping the subject. "The ships will be approaching Lunar orbit in a matter of minutes, and those turrents will be armed soon to shoot them. We have to take them out now, or else there is no way that those reinforcements will make it." Without another word, the whine of overboosters was heared from the anchient Emeraude. "May we be victorious with this mission. Lets go!" Just as an explosion was heard, signaling the excessive thrust of AC Destructor's booster, two more whines were heard as AC Red Death and AC Midnight activated their overthrust systems. 'I hope we complete this in time,' Destructor thought as twin explosions were heard behind him, signaling that his allies were coming along for the ride.

"We are now on final approach to Lunar," the comms said through the halls of _Decimation_. "All Ravens, we are on final approach. Prepair to board your ACs."

Nick and Jen awoke to the announcement, but didn't do anything in reguards to getting to their Armored Cores, they already were in them. They set up the power sequences to their ACs and had their computers handle the power distribution throughout the machines. Their cameras turned on in time for the duo to see Eddy and Linda enter the hanger, both of them actually standing together a little bit. Neither one was avoiding each other, and they actually chanced looking at each other a little bit, but they would turn away just moments after noticing the other was looking as well. "Seems those two are faring a little better now," Nick murmured on a private channel to Jen.

"Seems that way," she said, "no daggers or mallets, anyway..." They watched as the two entered their ACs. "I wonder how Sarah and Chris are fairing..."

At that particular moment in time, on board the _Tactic_, Pilan's AC was all powered up and ready for battle. AC Kaiser was just starting up, as was the AC Painbringer and AC Hell Bringer.

"What the..." The pilots aboard _Avenger III_ saw several small glowing areas on the moons surface. "_Avenger III_ to all ships, enemy planetary turrents are arming up. Prepare for evasive manuvers."

"Rodger that, _Avenger III_. We have confirmed defence activation and are preparing for evasion."

"Everybody hang on," the pilots of _Decimation _said. "We're in for a bumpy ride."

AC Demolition wasted no time upon arriving to the turrent site. Once he got close, he targeted the enemy MT units that were in the way and opened fire with his rifle, sniping out the cores of the units. AC Midnight thrusted in on normal power to arm its laser cannon, while AC Red Death landed and pelted the closest MT with its energy machine gun.

"We can't waste time on the MTs," Destructor said, scanning the area quickly as he speared another MT with his laser sword. "There are seven defense turrents here, and all of them must be eliminated to ensure the ships make it! Is that understood?"

"Affirmitive," Dark said, firing his laser cannon into the nearest turrent.

"Rodger," Doom said as she flew towards one, missile system armed. When she pressed the trigger, a single missile plummeted down towards the ground as additional missiles soared off the AC's shoulders. The single missile split into four and slammed the turrent on all sides, with the shoulder launched ones plowing into the main barrel. AC Destructor armed the rocket launcher it has towards a third launcher, firing a rather large projectile from the launcher. It slammed into the side with a spectacular explosion, but the turrent still stood.

Dark continued his assault, swapping between his laser cannon and his grenade launcher on his AC's back. He nearly used up half his grenade rounds before his turrent went down, and his cannon was half drained of its energy. "HA! Take that, Bastards! Going for another one!" He charged towards the next one, firing his spread bazooka into it as he charged.

Destructor growled in irritation when his turrent went down. "Damn! That took all my rockets!" he said as he swapped weapons. "We've got to hurry up! Those turrents will be firing any minute!"

"Rodger!" Doom said as she fired her fifth set of missiles. They slammed into the turrent as a loud explosion was heard. She looked in horror as the plasma beam soared into space from the collapsing turrent. "#$! My turrent fired a shot, but it won't shoot again now..."

Destructor slammed a console. "Dont' worry about it now! We've got four more to take out!"

"SHIT! THEY'RE FIRING!" Dark said as he continued his assult on his turrent, arming his grenades again. The trio looked in horror as beams of plasma were fired into space, but didnt' waste time worrying about that.

"TIME'S UP! NO HORSING AROUND NOW, LET'S GET RID OF THEM QUICK!"

"EVASIVE MANUVERS!" Pilan felt the tremor as the ship used its emergency thrusters to dodge the incoming beam. "THE PLANETARY DEFENSES ARE ACTIVE!"

"TELL US SOMETHING WE DON'T KNOW!" the _Decimation _pilot said. "ANOTHER BEAM! HARD TO PORT!" _Tactic's _pilot barely got the warning in time, but just managed to avoid the second shot.

"Man, I hate being holed up in this ship now..." Chris murmured on the comm. "We're sitting ducks..."

"SHUT UP, A-3! WE'RE ALL IN THIS DAMNED THING RIGHT NOW!"

"This is chaotic," Pilan murmured in her cockpit. "Just like on the _Triton_..."

"_AVENGER III, _THAT BEAM'S COMING RIGHT FOR YOU! HARD TO STARBOARD, HURRY!"

"I'M TRYING!" The sound of warning alarms sounded on the comms as it sounded like a near miss. "THESE GUYS ARE RELENTLESS! I JUST LOST PORT SIDE THRUSTERS FROM THAT NEAR MISS!"

"EYES FRONT, _AVENGER III_, TWO MORE BEAMS HEADING FOR YOU!"

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! HARD TO PORT!" Pilan gasped when she heard more alarms go off on the coms. "WE'RE IN TROUBLE HERE, THE EMERGENCY STARBOARD SIDE THRUSTERS ARE NOW GONE!"

"HANG ON!" Pilan felt the shudder as the _Tactic_ barely evaded another one. "DAMMIT, THEY'RE FOCUSING FIRE ON SINGLE SHIPS! WE CAN'T DODGE THAT MANY!"

"I CAN'T DODGE THEM!" The _Avenger_'s pilot yelled. More alarms sounded, including a computerized abandon ship order. "WE JUST LOST MAIN THRUST..AAAAGHHH!"

A loud explosion occured as _Avenger III _was destroyed. The shockwave shook the two remaining ships.

"DAMMIT! WE JUST LOST _AVENGER III_!"

Pilan's AC moved out of its hanger spot and reached for a handle near the back of the area. "Hey," Royal Mist yelled. "What do you think your doing!"

Zeo Streak II's visor turned to meet AC Kaiser's Rachis head. "I'm going down there." She said.

"ARE YOU INSANE? THERE ARE PLASMA CANNONS FIRING AT US! YOU'RE GOING TO GET KILLED OUT THERE!"

"Dont' stop me," Pilan said as her AC's sword arm pulled the lever. The rear hatch opened slowly, the atmosphere in the hanger bay quickly going out into space as they did so. "See you guys on the moon," she said as she thrusted out of the bay, making sure it was closing behind her.

"THE HELL? _TACTIC_, EXPLAIN WHY YOU JUST JETTESONED AN AC!"

"This is Pilan Zeo of the martian assult team," Pilan said on all channels. "I left the _Tactic_ on my own accord. Don't get in my way." She then looked in front. "_Decimation, _hard to starboard!" The ship responded by boosting hard to the side.

Pilan sighed. 'This is probably the craziest thing I'm going to do yet,' she thought as she positioned her AC with her thrusters, seeing no beams heading her way as Zeo Streak II faced the cannon location. She then opened up her Overboosters and unfolded her grenade launcher, then she was thrusting herself straight towards the turrent base.

Destructor looked up in the sky when he saw a bright flash of light, seeing the speck where _Avenger III_ was a moment ago. "That's not good!" he said on the communications. He was currently busy with MT units, which had chosen to strike at this time again.

"Sorry, Destructor," Doom said as she fired the last of her missiles into her target. "We're trying our best to finish these turrents off as fast as we can!" She stopped moving as her unit crouched down, her plasma cannon unfolding on her AC as she prepared to fire.

Dark finished destroying his second turrent, but has a problem. "There goes our fourth turrent, but I'm out of cannon and launcher rounds." an explosion sounded as he saw Doom's target get blasted by her cannon. "Make that five turrents."

Doom was just getting up when she had a problem of her own. An enemy MT slammed hers forward, causing it to collapse on its front. She looked behind her and saw the model, which was boosting back towards another turrent and arming a nasty looking weapon on its back. "I'm in trouble!"

Both Destructor and Dark saw her problem, but all three ACs detected a threat worse than an MT. "Enemy AC detected!" their computers warned them at the same time. All three were startled by what their computers said, for they were already in trouble with ammo at the moment. The MT, though, looked up towards space, noticing a speck up there. It couldn't respond before an orange sphere came down upon it, which exploded upon impact. The grenade took out all but the unit's legs, and happened to damage the area around it slightly.

"Holy Hell!" Doom yelled as reminants of the MT pelted her AC from the explosion. She looked up towards the stars, seeing a growing speck approaching. "Is that the AC?" she asked as her AC's EGRET tilted up for a better look. AC Midnight's Egret head as well as AC Destructor's Nighteye looked up as well, spotting the incoming unit.

Their computers beeped. "Target AC Zeo Streak II identified," they said simultaniously.

"Zeo Streak II?" Doom and Dark asked simultaniously. As they looked, their AC's magnified their viewers to maximum, revealing a fast moving Zeo Streak II approaching with its grenade cannon folding up. It then armed its Karasawa MKII rifle and pointed at one of the plasma cannon turrents, firing three shots down its barrel before it could fire another shot at the spacecraft. A loud whine was heard from the turrent before it exploded into pieces, wreckage flying all over the place.

"Hey, guys," a girl's voice intruded over the comms, a voice that Destructor wanted to speak to in person for a while. "Don't we have something left to destroy?"

Destructor smirked. "Yeah, we do, Pilan," he replied. "But my team's nearly spent. Doom only has her plasma cannon left to try on them. Zeo Streak II then flipped around and engaged its thrusters, slowing its speeded decent on to the moon. It then armed its grenade launcher and aimed for the last turrent.

"Tell her to fire three shots at its base," Pilan said, "as I fire grenades. You and that hover tank cover us from those MTs."

"Rodger," the three pilots responded. AC Midnight and AC Destructor moved to intercept the few MTs still around. The MTs were the same ones that were encountered in the Cortex fight, but their programming was ill suited for space combat. As Destructor and Midnight shot and slashed through the MTs, while still taking some mild damage from the enemy, Pilan and Doom fired their cannons into the final turrent. The turrent managed only two more shots before its base gave up from damages and collapsed, nearly burying AC Red Death in the process. Zeo Streak II landed next to the look-alike and gave it a hand with its blade arm extended, its hand motioning to allow it to help the AC up.

"Alright," Dark shouted as the last MT was destroyed. "We got them!"

Zeo Streak's visor glared at AC Midnight. "This fight isn't over yet," she said sharply. "Our mission isn't over until Neo Core is defeated, and we can't do that without the reinforcements." She looked up into space, seeing the growing specks of the two ships that were still there. "We lost one ship before I came down. With the loss of _Avenger III_, we also lost four ravens and three brave starship pilots."

"So," Destructor stated, stepping up to Pilan's AC. "What's our next move?"

"Destructor," she said softly, "why are you asking me?"

"I was in charge of the team you see before you ever since we got here, but only because I was the highest ranked raven here." He grinned sheepishly. "Now that you're here, you're in charge. Or did you forget you're the highest ranked raven in the Concord?"

Pilan tapped her helmet. "Guess I did forget..." she replied. "We should link up with the _Decimation_ and the_ Tactic_, the two ships that survived the battle. There, we can get repairs, reload, and coordinate our next move with the earth ravens."

Nick listened to the silence. "Guess we're still alive, for the fighting seems to have stopped..." he said to break that silence.

"Nice of you to state the obvious," Jen replied on her comms.

"Listen up, Ravens," the pilot said on the comm systems. "We are now in Lunar space, and we have successfully cleared the Lunar defense cannons. Unfortunately, we lost _Avenger III_, along with the ravens on board that ship. Our fight will be tougher now because of what happened." He paused. "During the combat, an AC left the _Tactic_ and managed to get to Lunar without serious incident. We have a message from her."

"This Pilan Zeo, daugher of the martian Nine Breaker, Pilana Zeo. This part of the operation was a success in several ways. With the defense cannons now gone, there is no way Neo Core can defend themselves from additional Dropships of ACs and your path to the planet is now clear." She paused for a breath. "It is also with great relief that I say that, during the fight against the cannons, I was able to link up with a trio of Martian survivors from over a week ago. I am as surprised, as possibly many of you are, that anyone from the origional martian assult team managed to safely arrive and survive on the planet. We are currently waiting for the ships to land, so that we can rearm, repair, rest, and plan out the next move against Neo Core. I await my friends and comrades in arms here."

Nick whistled. "that was a rather impressive speech."

"I second that," Jen said. They looked at Quick Death V and Speed Demon, waiting for their pilots to respond. "Hey, you two still alive?" Jen asked.

"Sorry," Linda replied from her Ac, sounding a little weak. "I kinda had an...accident...in my AC..."

Nick looked in that direction. "What was wrong? Did the fighting outside make you pee?"

"NICK!" Jen said in irritation.

"no...I...uh..I kinda...puked... all over the console here... uugh..." Jen and Nick were kinda surprised about her saying something like that.

"Hey, Eddie. You die in there or something?" Nick said, trying to get the image he just had out of his head.

"Sorry about not speaking," Ed said on his comm. "Forgot to turn it on when the fighting stopped. Did I miss something?"

"We lost _Avenger III_, we are now on Lunar, and...Linda puked inside her AC..." Nick said bluntly.

"She what!" Eddy said immediately upon hearing that. His image on the screen turned pale. "Uh oh..."

"Hey. What's wrong?" Nick said.

"Nothing really," Eddy replied. 'I hope,' he thought to himself "Let me get her to the room." Before Nick could say anything, Eddy got out of his AC and pushed off towards Quick Death V. Once there, Linda slowly got out of the AC, a look of weakness on her with identacle looks of disgust from the two when they looked back into the cockpit for a moment. They then pushed off towards the hall and walked off.

"Nick," Jen started. "I think it may be best if we don't bother them for a while..." Nick could only look at the screen showing her face and nod, but he still was questioning himself as to what would have Eddy act like that.

Jen could only watch as the two left. 'I'm hoping that their little drunken escapade a few days ago didn't become something more worrysome,' she thought. The ship was rather quiet as it started its landing on the ground, most of its crew, along with the crew of the _Tactic_, hoping that they can end this war quickly.

my sincerest apologies for the extreme lateness of this fanfiction. ever since I wrote that last chapter, I suffered from writers block, work, moving, family seperation, moving a second time in the same month, and finally getting the computer hooked up once more to the internet. Only good thing is that i'm using the same clunker that houses most of my fanfiction data anyways. There will be no reviewer's response notice here, for I couldn't keep track of which ones were prior to my disappearance. Feel free to review for anything, whether it be thoughts on what will happen next, how horrible i may be writing, yell at me for breaking promises, whatever.

this time, next chapter is coming out soon. hope to see some familar names


	14. Chapter 13: Planning

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 13: Planning

Pilan looked up at the two ships that helped her rejoin her fellow Martian ravens, sad that one of their ships, along with the four ravens and three pilots aboard, was lost to Neo Core's defense cannons. She stood along with Doom, Dark, and Destructor as the two ships landed gently on the moon's surface. "We'll need to get the ACs into the ships to rearm and repair them," she said to her reunited teammates as well as the ship captains.

"Understood," _Tactic_'s captain replied. "These ships were originally designed to carry up to six AC units, so they should fit right in. May be a tight squeeze, though, for some of that extra area was also used for the extra weapons and ammo."

Pilan nodded. "Alright. Thanks for the heads up," she said before turning to her fellow ravens. "Destructor and I are going onto the _Decimation_ for rearming and repairs." Her AC's visor looked at AC Red Death and AC Midnight. "You two go onto this ship here," she said, pointing her blade arm towards the _Tactic. _"Just pay attention to what the commander says, for our mission detailing will start soon now that they are landing."

"Roger," Dark and Doom replied simultaneously as they moved their ACs over to where the _Tactic_ was landing. Zeo Streak and AC Destructor then moved to where the _Decimation _is landing, waiting to come aboard. It didn't take long for the ships to land, both ships opening the launch doors for the Martian ACs to board.

Nick watched as two ACs entered the ship's hanger. He was still inside his AC because the atmosphere was sent out of the bay when the doors opened. He wasn't surprised to see Zeo Streak II, but the old Emeraude unit that followed her was what surprised him. As the door closed, he watched as both the Emeraude and Zeo Streak II take their positions in the spare recesses. He then looked over at Hunter IV, knowing that Jen was still in there. The Oxi head looked at him, as if asking what was going on. Both ravens watched as the cockpits for both units opened, which in turn revealed their pilots. They easily recognized Pilan leaving Zeo Streak II, both because she is the sole pilot as well as her blood red hair. The Emeraude pilot was the next one out. He had unkempt brown hair, probably from being trapped on Lunar for almost a week, that matched his brown eyes. He seemed well built, but not excessively muscular for a late teen. Heck, he actually appeared to be a little older than the 18 year old red-head down there. Both pilots said something briefly, too softly to hear in an AC, then started hugging each other.

"Any ideas?" he asked Jen on a private channel.

"My guess," she started, "He's a survivor from the main group, just like she is. Possibly even knew her before they were sent."

Nick nodded. "Well, we can't stay in these ACs all day. Come on, lets introduce ourselves and get to the briefing," he said, popping open his cockpit. Both the boy and Pilan split upon hearing the noise, startled as Deathscythe VIII and Hunter IV opened their hatches to allow their pilots out. Both Nick and Jen slid out of their ACs and approached the two, noticing the young Martian girl blushing. "Sorry," Nick started. "Didn't know you were in the hanger..."

Pilan shot Nick an angered look, and it was all Nick could do not to pale. "Don't lie, Reaper," she said angrily. "You were in that AC the whole time." She shot a look at Jen as well, stopping the earth girl from saying anything with a glare.

Nick sighed. "Fine, we were still in the ACs when you two entered the ship.." he said. "Sorry about ruining your cozy moment together."

Pilan's face turned redder than earlier, whereas the boy stepped up. "Apology accepted," he said, causing Pilan to look at him in shock. "We should've known better than to enjoy our reunion in the hanger."

Jen looked at the boy. "Um, who are you?"

He blinked, then laughed slightly. "Ah, yes. My name is Zeron, callsign 'Destructor.'" He looked at his AC. "Personally, it makes calling me or my AC easier, for they both are the same name," he said, chuckling. Pilan nodded, trying anything she could think of to stop blushing. "I believe you two should now introduce yourselves now."

Jen smiled lightly. "My name's Jen, callsign 'Tanja.' My AC is Hunter III..." she looked at her AC, turning red in embarrassment. "...sorry, Hunter IV. I already forgot that Hunter III was totaled."

Nick snickered. "That's a riot. I won't make the same mistake introducing Deathscythe VII to him and..." It was his turn to turn red, and for Jen to laugh at him while she was still red. "Damn, you're an influence!" he said to Jen, causing her to laugh even more. He shook his head and looked at Zeron. "Sorry, my AC is Deathscythe VIII. As for me, I'm Nick, callsign 'Grim Reaper.'"

"Reaper for short, I assume," Zeron replied. He noticed the two additional AC units in the hanger. "Those yours?" he asked, looking at the sleek, speed AC units.

Pilan shook her head, finally having rid herself of her red face. "Not theirs. Those belong to their friends." She pointed at Quick Death V. "That one is Quick Death V, piloted by a girl named Linda. Her callsign is 'Sprint.'" She then pointed to the other one. "That one is Speed Demon, piloted by Eddy. His callsign is 'Demon.'"

"Guess I'll be seeing them soon enough," Zeron said. "I just want to finish this mission and get back home, I've had enough of this planet." He left the hanger and went wandering into the small ship, Pilan beside him and speaking to him.

"Rather cheery guy," Nick murmured.

"He's been here a week," Jen said to him. "I could understand being in his shoes, trying his best to keep himself and his friends alive as long as he did."

Nick could do nothing more than nod in agreement. "Come on," he said softly. "The new briefing will be starting soon. Perhaps Zeron and his team may know a way to end this fight quickly."

Eddy waited near the bathroom door, having to bear the sounds of retching from within. 'This is the second time outside of the AC,' he thought worriedly. 'That is definitely not a good sign.' He looked at the door again, curiously. 'But she only ate something just before we entered our AC units, and this is the third time she vomited today. What is left for her to heave up?' His attention was drawn towards the door as it was opened, a wearied Linda leaving it. "You feeling OK?" he asked.

She looked at him wearily through the corner of her eye, her upper eyelids drooping. "more like crap..." she replied in a soft tone. "pretty much lost my breakfast with the first two..." She shuddered slightly. "don't even want to think about what I puked out the third time..." She started to move again, but nearly stumbled with her third step. Eddy was able to get to her and, using his body as her support, keep her up.

"That isn't a good sign, Linda," Eddy said, helping her to the bedroom. She allowed him to bring her there, but looked at him in confusion.

"I'm just not feeling well," she said reassuringly in her soft tone. "there is no sign about it, I'm just ill right now..."

Eddy shook his head. "I doubt that is an illness, and you know it," he responded. "Or did you forget what we both awoke to a few days ago?" She looked at him wearily still as she tried to understand.

"awoke to?" she murmured, trying to think. Her eyebrows raised a moment in recognition, then she was frowning at him. "you and me in the Breaker's room..." He nodded slowly, causing her eyes to widen in shock. "You can't mean..."

"that's what I'm led to believe right now..." Eddy replied. "What else could you be vomiting about?"

She looked startled and shook her head. "It couldn't be... Even if that were the case, its only been two or three days... that would be too soon for me to be..."

Eddy stopped her. "Every pregnancy is different for every girl," he said, looking at her. "Some girls whose bodies are more sensitive to what's going on inside may react differently from others." He shook his head. "Its the only thing I believe is causing you to be ill, and I apologize for that. If I never got drunk like that..." He looked away, unsure how to continue.

She looked at him. "No... we were both drunk..." she said. "I barely recall us drinking Tanja's vodka, but something got us before we even tried that stuff..." She stumbled again.

Eddy looked up and saw the room. "We're here," he said. "Getting rest should be your top priority right now..."

"Attention, all ravens. The briefing will be starting in just a few minutes. All ravens are to report to the bridge at this time," the PA system said.

Linda cursed under her breath. "No time for rest now..."

"Oh, no you don't," Eddy started. "You just rest for now. I'll make sure you know what's happening when the briefing is over." He helped her into the room and had her lay down on the bed. "I'll be back," he said before leaving the room. Linda just looked at him as he left. She sighed as she laid down.

'Does he really care about my health that much?' she thought as she tried to get some sleep.

Nick and Jen looked at the door as Eddy entered at a run. Pilan and Zeron were already on the bridge when he entered. Jen noticed someone missing. "...where's Linda?" she asked.

Eddy shook his head. "She's resting right now, she wasn't feeling too good.." he replied. Pilan and Zeron nodded in understanding, whereas Nick and Jen looked at him questionably. They almost didn't notice as the viewscreen in front changed to reveal the five pilots in the _Tactic_. On the screen were Royal Mist, Chris, Sarah, Dark, and Doom.

"Alright," Royal Mist said from his end. "Now this briefing can begin."

Sarah glared at him. "No it can't," she said quickly. "One of my teammates isn't there."

"She's resting right now," Eddy said. "We'll tell her what the plan is." Nick and Jen reluctantly nodded in agreement, which caused Sarah to groan slightly. She wanted to see her friend, but she had to trust Eddy, Nick, and Jen on their word this time.

"Right," Mist said, trying to get everyone back to the briefing. "You all know what you accepted, even the Martian survivors we picked up. Before we start, I would like to say thank you to the Martian ravens for taking out the defense cannons, as well as Martian Pilan for her reckless, yet rather effective space rush stunt to help her friends from both planets. Our only regret right now is losing _Avenger III_ during the landing operation." He then paused for a moment. "From now on, our mission is one of vengeance for allot now. The devastation that occurred on Mars, the assault against Global Cortex on earth, the countless ravens that had fallen heading to lunar or defending their turf. Neo Core kept attacking Earth and Mars where it hurt, so we should respond in kind." He turned towards Dark and Doom, then looked at the screen towards Zeron. "You three, who spent almost a week here. You know where their base is?"

Zeron spoke. "We were only able to scout around up there, mostly. We learned the location of their secondary bases thanks to Dark attacking them on the darkside of Lunar. They apparently are situated on the light side of the moon, but we couldn't find out where exactly."

Doom shifted. "Actually, I saw something while on patrol two days ago..." she replied. "Sorry, Destructor, I forgot to mention it earlier. I had to deviate from my patrol because of an enemy fighter coming towards me. I managed to get away before I could be spotted, but I almost got spotted by... something else." She looked at the side and access a computer, opening a screen on the comm viewer. It showed a rough map of the Lunar surface, and a circled area on it. "This map shows the rough position of what I nearly slammed into. Its a relatively large facility, but my scanners could only scrape the surface. Red Death could only figure that there were two levels above ground designed for AC and MT entry, with a large, ground planted door system. My guess is its the main facility, and they have something large underground. My AC detected at least four AC height levels below ground before the scanners were blocked." As she spoke, she hit more keys on the computer, compiling the information she could get from her AC's map system.

"Blocked?" Chris asked. "Couldn't it've just been out of range of your scanners?"

"You're thinking detection radar," Dark started. "She was speaking of terrain sensors. EGRET heads are a work of art, being capable of scanning the surrounding area and add additional Intel in the map as the unit passes through. If she couldn't scan beyond four floors, then there is some sort of interference in the way."

Sarah looked at them curiously. "So your saying this facility might me the main facility, and possibly the main base of the Neo Core organization?"

"What else could it be?" Doom replied. "That door isn't something that was at the facilities that Dark wasted. As I said before, the door itself seems far too big, as if they are building something huge underground. If I was going to build something big, it would be where the enemy would have a hard time getting to it."

"I've only been a Raven for only a year," Nick started, "with the few friends I still had. Within that year, I learned the hard way that such bases are extremely well defended." He chuckled. "Hell, it took me, Demon, and Devil to penetrate a well hidden and fortified Mirage installation. Defended by 50 anti-AC MT units and backed up with a team of AC pilots of great skill, we barely made it out of that one alive. We were lucky they had no installation turrets in there as well."

Jen nodded. "He's right. I destroyed the controller, but nearly lost my life and AC in the process because of the extensive defense system that was there. If we are to enter that facility, then we better be prepared to encounter stiff resistance the entire way through."

Eddy listened carefully and surveyed the blueprints of the facility. "Doom's data isn't completely sufficient. We may know how many levels there are above and the few below, but we're going in blind regardless. We just don't know what is in there at all." He highlighted several points with a nearby console. "There are several entrance points here. Entering from these three points will force their defenders to split up to deal with the enemy forces."

Pilan was eyeing them too. "It's too dangerous to just go down the facility. Splitting up doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, but lets extend that. May I?" she asked Eddy, meaning the computer he was hogging at the moment. He moved aside as she moved there and brought up AC schematics. Each AC was of one of the eleven currently at their disposal, with a twelfth slot open showing the MT units encountered at the Cortex battle. "It is to be expected that these MT units, codenamed 'Drone' for this mission, may make an appearance. They seem to fight allot better in a gravity environment, which will explain why the few encountered at the defense cannons were too easy to destroy. Even worse is the fact that they seem to use some sort of AI system for combat, for all noted units destroyed on earth had no pilot aboard. They seem to use gatlings, blades, and missiles, but it is possible that they may get their hands on something stronger for some situations. Just be aware of them during the mission."

"With all due respect," Royal Mist started, "What does explaining about the MT unit going to do about your thoughts on extending the plan?"

"Nothing," she replied bluntly. "I just needed some time to think of a plan, so I chose to mention them."

Nick shook his head. "If you didn't notice, Mist, she did explain what needed to be known about those things to the Martians. I doubt they battled many of them up here, if at all." He looked at Pilan. "What's your plan then?"

"We currently have eleven AC units," she started, "and it would be relatively easy to sort them into teams." She highlighted several routes. "Our biggest problem is that we have too few heavy machines to send all over to assist with a barrage. I only see four; Kaiser, Painbringer, Hellbringer, and Midnight. Speed Demon and Quick Death V are another problem, for their poor armor and excessive speed will make them relatively vulnerable to an enemy attack, even though they are among Earth's highest ranked Ravens. Here's what I think we should do." She highlighted Quick Death V and Speed Demon. "Since these two are our fastest units, they shouldn't be involved in any of the serious fighting. I think that the two of them, as well as a third Raven, should go from the ground floor to the top floor. Eddy seems proficient with computers, and his AC has impressive hacking ability." She looked at Quick Death's specks, surprised at what she saw. 'Hmm, seems she swapped her hover legs for the same pair that Edd took, and now uses a laser rifle with beam saber on regular arms. At least that's better than the twin laser arm, now she can defend herself.' "Quick Death should accompany him because both of them are fast and she can offer him some cover with her laser rifle. It won't matter how fast or slow their third is, for he needs to be able to act as a guard or decoy for them. Their mission is to check the upper levels for anything that can give us an edge for the lower levels. Facility maps, MT designs, hangers, whatever the hell their doing in there. When they are done, they may continue to travel down through the facility or escape, for their main purpose would be completed at that time."

Royal mist thought about that. "I guess I'll assist them with the guard detail. My AC is adequately armed and armored, not to mention can mildly keep up with them if they try to push it." He looked at the other. "It is safe to assume the other eight ACs are going to proceed downward through the lower areas while the three of us are scouting the upper areas."

Pilan nodded. "Yeah, that is part of the plan I was thinking."

"Right. Just be prepared for me to assist you guys when Devil and Sprint are done with their objective, provided I'm not badly damaged and have plenty of ammo to spare," Mist replied.

"I just had a thought," Nick started. We definitely won't be able to hold onto our weapons throughout the mission. If there are allot of enemies, we would run out of ammo soon. If we encounter any weapons down there that we can use, I think we should use them when one of our other weapons are depleted."

"Good thinking, Reaper," Zeron said. "Mist, is that your name? Since my commander has already issued her plan and teaming of the speedsters, how about you decide how the other eight are going in."

Mist nodded. "Right," he replied, highlighting the north side entrance for his team. "My team will go by 'Recon,' and we'll enter this one. ACs Deathscythe VIII, Hunter IV, Red Death, and Midnight will enter the east side entrance. ACs Painbringer, Hellbringer, Zeo Streak II, and Destructor will enter from the south west entrance. It is probably necessary for the groups to split up, but no one goes alone for those teams. If you guys are going to take different paths, make sure someone else is going with you. I don't want to find out we lost contact with an AC because he separated from the group." He looked at the time. "That will be all for the briefing. We should be moving out within six hours. Get rested up, and make sure everyone is well equipped for this. Everyone is to be ready to move on a moment's notice, though. Dismissed," He cut the line, leaving the ravens to themselves.

Pilan sighed. "Well, that's that," she said, getting up. "I'll be in the hanger to prepare Zeo Streak for battle. Excuse me." She then proceeded to the bridge door.

"I'm going with you," Zeron said, following her out. Nick and Jen looked at each other for a moment.

"Well," Nick started, stretching from being in one place for too long. "..not sure about you guys, but I'm getting something to eat." He started to leave when Jen gripped his hand. He turned to see her smiling lightly.

"I'm with you there," she said, then looked at Ed. "You coming?"

Eddy shook his head. "No thanks," he said. "I figure I'm going to check on Linda, see if she's resting. I'll see you guys later." He started out when Nick stopped him.

"Listen to me," he said. "I think all three of us know she isn't feeling well. Care to share why she's resting right now?"

Eddy fidgeted then sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll tell you two, but only you two. I'm sure Linda would rather have her best friend know."

"Well?" Jen started.

"...I think she's pregnant..." Both Nick and Jen looked at him oddly. "She vomited three times already, and we did kinda do it in our drunken stupors a few nights ago, if us noticing our clothes missing and the bed unusually damp that morning being any hint."

"If that's the case," Jen started, "then she shouldn't go on this mission. She shouldn't have even accepted it in the first place!"

"You think I don't know that?" Eddy asked. "She accepted the mission before either one of us became drunk. The problem now is that she has to accompany us." He looked Jen in the eyes. "But I swear on my life, I won't let anything happen to her during our assignment. Once we're done, we're outta the facility and back at the _Decimation_." She glared back at him. "I'm not about to let her die, not while she carries our child within her, especially when I think I love her."

Both Nick and Jen blinked in surprise. "What?"

Eddy sighed. "I think I love her... I am going to see later how she feels about me if I can. Right now, though, her survival will me my mission, not the information assignment." He turned away from them. "Excuse me," were his last words before he left the bridge, leaving Nick and Jen behind.

Eddy arrived at the bedroom and opened the door to it minutes later. He looked at Linda, a look of surprise on both their faces. She was laying down on the bed, just as he left her, but she was looking at him while her hands were over a mound on her stomach. What was surprising to Eddy was that the mound was under her shirt, making her appear to be at least seven to eight months. "The hell?" he asked in surprise, breaking the moment of awkward silence.

"Uh, sorry," Linda said. She lifted a portion of her shirt up, revealing her pilot suit rolled up in a ball. "I couldn't get the thought of being pregnant out of my head, let alone how I'd look part of the way through." She rubbed the 'belly' a moment before she started to pull her suit out of her shirt.

Eddy shook his head. "I could understand that, I guess," he said. "You should really be getting some rest, we have about six hours before we end this."

"End this?" she questioned. "Sounds like the mission's nearly over."

"May as well be, the Martians think they found the main base, and we're attacking it in six hours. Our job is going through the top levels to find some information if we can. Once that's complete, we can either join up with the others as they proceed down or retreat to the ship," Eddy said. He sat down on the bed next to her. "I'd rather you return to the _Decimation_ when the assignment is over. I don't want to see you die out there."

She looked at him curiously. "We're ravens. Getting killed is just part of the job," she said. "You should kn..."

"I know that!" he snapped. "I just love you too much to..." He stopped and looked at her with dread on his face. She was looking at him in surprise, her face turning red.

'Did he say he loves me?' she thought. "do...Do you mean that?" she asked, moving closer to him so that their eyes were locked. "Did you just say that you love me, and don't want to see me die?"

He looked at her with that look, then lightened it up as his face turned red. "Yeah...I meant it," he said reluctantly. "I don't know how you feel about me, but I..." He wasn't able to say much else, especially when Linda's lips were on his. He was startled for a moment, but calmed down after that moment. She then pulled back to look at him, giving him a chance to speak again. "Why'd you.."

"I never told my teammates, but," she started. "I...kinda had a crush on you." She smiled slightly. "Remember what I said with the kiss thing to you?" He nodded. "My own feelings kinda got in the way there, and I damn near spilled that I had a crush on you right then and there." She looked at him again. "You probably have no idea how happy I feel knowing you feel the same for me."

He turned to her. "Actually, I think I feel as happy as you do," he said, pulling her in close for a kiss. They stayed like that for nearly an eternity to them before he pulled back. "Lets get some rest for now. We're going to have a bit to do when we wake up."

that's the thirteenth chapter. as of yet, this is the first fanfic i wrote that has this many chapters. granted, this one is also probably longer and mushier than the other chapters to date, but i couldnt' help myself. granted, i don't think a girl has morning sickness after having intercourse a few days prior, but that's how it is for her in this fic. next chapter marks the beginning of the final battle, and it's going to be a long one.

the reviews this time are from both the last and second to last chatper made before this one.

total reviews:5

Chapter 11

KirKTimN- sorry for the wait. I hope you like it and continue to read it as the remaining chapters unfold.

VenomatikM16- as you can see, i didn't quit. more like hybernated for a rediculously long time. as for quality, i just do my best. i'll keep an eye out for your fics and see how well you write

digicharat08- thanks for the complement. I figure the best armored core game would be one in which the game isn't just mech v mech action, but revolves around the live of a raven as a whole. till that day comes, i'll just keep kicking the shit out of any AC that gets in my way and pretent that this fanfic is an extension to the game.

Chapter 12

Kenshkrix- you sound like an impressive pilot. I can't dodge damage as well as you could, but i can easily dish it out with impressive accuracy. missiles, though. those took a while to practice evasion, but i can't get hit by regular missiles now.

Rytiko- everything may have errors in it. I'm just doing my best. good to hear from you again, and I intend to keep it going. I may actually consider a sequel, but that is still in the air.

to every raven in the community, i wish you all a good night


	15. Chapter 14: Assault

Armored Core: Lunar Battle

Chapter 14

Oblivion sat inside his AC, situated at the lowest level of the lunar installation. He was still fuming about his last few bouts back on earth. He had tried to fight off the AC team that annihilated the remnants of Neo Core's MT battle forces back at that one Mirage base, and again during the fight at the Cortex. During both fights, he engaged ace pilot Grim Reaper and B1 ranker Tanja. In his first fight, he was sure that the ace would die, since Deathscythe VII had no ammo left and was severely overheating. He only fell back because of the sudden appearance of the Martian ace, Pilan Zeo, and the damages and ammo remaining on his AC. In his second fight, he had badly damaged Tanja's AC, Hunter III, and was causing the AC to overheat when Deathscythe VIII appeared. He hadn't expected the ace to survive his encounter, and was unprepared for the newer AC that the pilot had used. Even worse, the AC had attacked with a back mount laser cannon while moving on biped legs, just as his AC could with its laser and grenade. "That boy is no plus," he murmured from his AC. A beeping sound caught his attention, a communication from the employer. Oblivion merely snorted as he opened the channel. No video feed was available, only audio.

"We have a problem," a deep voice said. Oblivion knew off the bat this guy was using a voice masking system. "The earth Cortex has sent a team of ACs to Lunar."

Oblivion chuckled at that. "So, what's the problem?" he asked. "Your 'state-of-the-art defense system should easily keep them off the surface."

"It fell several hours ago, and our defense teams at our main defense station haven't contacted us yet," the voice said. "A secondary team confirmed three carrier class ships that were on approach here. The orbital defense system destroyed one of the three ships, but the other two landed when four Ravens attacked the cannons. We've been avoiding going after the ships themselves, but we have reason to believe they are approaching this base."

Oblivion checked the status of the base, and smiled. "There shouldn't be a problem. If they come here, they would need to work their way through the entire facility. This base extends down by ten floors large enough for AC units to move through. We have a large number of our NCC model MT units situated here." He chuckled. "Even if they get through those MT defenders, their armor levels would be quite low, more than enough for me to take them down myself."

"Quite true," the voice said. "We'll also be ready in the Behemoth MT we've been redeveloping."

Oblivion looked at the machine they referred to. It was a monster of a machine with several levels of armor plating covering it. It was supposed to move on hover tech used by some AC units. The machine consisted of two large vertical missile launchers on its back, with armored plating on the main thrusters equipped to the bottom back of it. The front had a pair of grenade launcher arms, each capable of firing together with deadly accuracy and able to fire three grenades in succession. Above the grenades were twin laser defense turrets, as well as an orbit cannon dispenser based below the armored cockpit. Oblivion remembered this machine. "You mean that Balena based assault MT," he said. He needn't say more, for that machine in the past was nearly able to destroy Neo Issac. It had ripped through two large MT detachments, and had annihilated three AC units deployed against it nearly twenty years ago. It eventually was destroyed by a fourth Raven, who was lucky enough to find the main segment to attack. The raven responsible for saving Neo Issac from certain destruction was Pilana, the former Nine Breaker, and her Ac, Zeo Streak. This one, however, wouldn't be so easy to destroy, now that its vulnerable parts have been reinforced with additional armor plates. Oblivion had to nod in satisfaction. The MT was near completion, but it was still an immense threat to AC units even at 60 completion, let alone it currently being 90 complete. He checked the data one more time, noticing another gate in the facility. Cameras to the room were unavailable, but the scanners were active and detecting an AC class unit stored within. "What about this section?" he questioned.

"Out of the question," the voice replied once more. "The machine in there would destroy the entire facility, and anyone stupid enough to get in the way of it."

Oblivion frowned, starting to think there was more to the 'Pandora's Box' room than he was being told. However, he had more pressing business to attend to, namely the preparation for his guests.

"Sir," another voice said, showing the helmet of a conventional MT defense pilot. "We've spotted an assault force of eleven AC units approaching the facility. What are our orders, sir?"

Oblivion smiled and opened a channel. "Good work," he said. "Don't engage the mechs. Locate and destroy the transports. Leave the assault force to us." The MT pilot merely nodded in reply before closing his comm. Oblivion smirked. "Ravens, prepare to meet your downfall."

……………..

"This is Devil," Chris started. "Hellbringer and Painbringer are in position for perimeter assault."

Nick nodded inside his cockpit, checking what his AC's Misteye was seeing and checking his placement maps. Next to his AC stood Hunter IV, its Oxi head looking towards the facility. Right behind them were Speed Demon and Quick Death V, with both Eddy and Linda seemingly in a better mood with each other than they were earlier. Royal Mist was with them as well, mounted in his Kaiser AC. The group agreed that on the entering of the facility, task team Recon would link with task team Ace. Ace was the combat team consisting of Grim Reaper (Nick) and his Deathscythe VIII with Tanja (Jen) and her Hunter IV. Recon had Demon (Eddy) and his Speed Demon, Sprint (Linda) with her overhauled Quick Death V, and Royal Mist with his AC Kaiser. Once the two teams reached a certain part inside the facility, they would split up. Since Recon was only going to cover the top two or three floors of the AC scaled facility, and they consisted of two very light ACs and a heavy armored AC with impressive speed, they would need additional protection until they could get to the second floor. Ace would cover them up until they go to the second level up, and then continue down further into the facility. Team Pound consisted of Devil (Chris) and his tank AC Painbringer with Big Shot (Sara) with Hellbringer, and their task was only to attack the exterior defenses of the facility until the other four teams entered the facility, and then they would follow into the facility for mop up operations as they also proceeded down into the facility. Those three teams would enter through the east side entrance. Pilan and her AC Zeo Streak II with Destructor (Zeron) and is likely named AC made up team 9 Break. They were to enter through the south side entrance alone and proceed through the facility. Because of Destructor's configuration, he would constantly swap weapons with whatever weapons are available in weapon bays as Pilan covered him. She claimed she wouldn't be using her Karasawa unless she had no choice, so she would be using her back weapons and Moonlight sword. Team Zeo consists of Dark and his Midnight AC with Doom and her AC Red Death, and they would follow suit as the others using the north side entrance.

"Doom here, team Zeo is ready."

"Pilan here, 9 Break is ready over here."

Kaiser nodded. "Team confirmation confirmed," he said. "Operation commences now!"

All AC units said in one mix of computerized voices. "Mission confirmed, engaging combat mode," resounded on the comm as all units started their move. Explosions attracted the main external MT defenders as Painbringer and Hellbringer opened fire on the turret defenses. During the confusion of fire from the two ACs against the basic space model MT, the other four teams entered the facility.

……………………………………………..

Destructor was successful in hacking onto the facility's mainframe to open the door. "Lets move," he said, his Ac's Nighteye looking at the blue armored Egret head of Zeo Streak. It nodded in reply as the two ACs activated their overboosters, thrusting down into the facility with very little interference. One of the new MTs appeared around the corner to attack them, but it was in Destructors way. With a tap of the controls, the Ac activated and swung its laser blade, decimating the unit with its power and momentum of overboost. It didn't take long for them to need to keep an eye out.

"Alert: enemy units approaching!" the Nighteye warned as Destructor confirmed this on the radar. He armed his rifle and prepared to defend himself from the enemy forces approaching, as he noticed Streak's low trajectory missiles preparing to fire. The units rounded the corner before being impaled with rifle and missile rounds, but they only succeeded in taking down two of the MTs before the others fired down at them. Destructor and Zeo Streak hid around the corners of the hall to avoid incoming fire. He saw as Zeo Streak peeked around the corner, its grenade launcher unfolding as its left hand lifted to hold the weapon. "Fire in the hold," Pilan said as she fired the weapon, taking out the units unable to move out of the way. "Let's move." The two AC units then flew through the hall quickly, before they received another warning.

"Pilan, enemy MTs right behind us!" Destructor warned. The blue AC only glanced behind it briefly before the back panels of its shoulders opened. The sound of machine gun fire was heard as rounds fired from the shoulders into the enemy MTs behind them. One fell while the other one backed off. "The hell was that?" he asked Pilan.

"Back mounted Vulcan," Pilan replied quickly. "Balena created this weapon nearly fifteen years ago, but its lack of usefulness prevented it from being effective. I only placed them in for the hell of it, never thinking they would be needed."

"Good thing you did," Destructor said, continuing to move with Streak.

……………..

Three MTs collapsed as Deathscythe VIII and Hunter IV charged through the facility. Reaper had been holding back on firing the EO, for he can't rearm it in here. That didn't stop him from firing his missiles and machine gun at the enemy. Tanja was following suit, doing their best to cover team Recon. "Just got an update," Mist said over the comm. "Teams Zeo and 9 Break have already infiltrated the facility and are going down further. Team Pound is falling behind schedule, but they say they'll be in here in about eighty seconds."

"Sounds good," Jen replied, looking back at the team. She stopped when she detected enemy MT units approaching from the next corridor. "Enemy at 3 o'clock!" Deathscythe boosted towards the other corner of the hall, barely evading the Gatling rounds fired at him. The misteye peeked around the corner, spotting the enemy MT units.

"Same model as before," Nick muttered. He armed his machine gun and fired down the hall with Hunter IV backing him up with a rifle. "You three, get moving. Radar says the elevator to the next floor is down this hall. We'll keep these fools off your ass!"

"Rodger," Ed replied, looking at his teammates. "Team Recon breaking off. Happy hunting." He led the charge across, with Quick Death V and Kaiser following in its wake. An enemy MT got in his way, but he blasted it down with his stronger machine gun. He then opened the door as the other two approached.

"Get moving," Mist said, practically pushing the two smaller machines into the elevator. Ed merely sighed as he activated the elevator once they all were scrunched in. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the next floor.

"Checking radar," Linda said, noticing an extreme lack of fighters on this level. "I don't see anything up here."

"Not surprised," Eddy replied. "We moved to the top level instead of the second level." He frowned. "I don't think that elevator was a standard one, but an express elevator."

Mist and Linda nodded in agreement as they moved out. "This way," Mist said as he took the lead. "The sooner we find some information, the sooner we can help our allies."

………

Chris sighed as the last defense MT was shot down, his tank having taken little damage. He peeked at Hellbringer, noticing that she was in relatively good shape in regards to damage as well. "Alright, enemy MT units have been destroyed," Chris said, moving his tank over towards the facility as Hellbringer followed. "We'll be in the base in just a minute." His move was slowed down as he heard something opening. Both ACs looked at where the large hatch was, noticing that it was opening up. "Scratch that, an express route just opened up for below."

Nick's voice could be heard on the receiving end. "You know the drill," he replied, the sound of gunfire heard over the comm. "An enemy may use that route to escape. Scratch your original plan and secure that route."

Chris nodded in reply. "You get that, Shot?"

"I heard him," Sarah replied, following Painbringer towards the hatch. "But I don't like it. We should prevent the enemy from leaving there, but I don't think it's wise to go down."

Chris shook his head. "Can't be helped," he said. "We'll go down there carefully, so we can avoid and destroy any defenses they have." Sarah reluctantly nodded to this and boosted towards the opened hatch leading underground. Chris led the way down as Sarah followed.

…...……………

Eddy smiled as he rounded another corner. "Jackpot," he said as his AC walked into the room. He moved it over to a computer terminal and knelt his machine down on one knee. He then opened the cockpit, waiting for the back panel to be fully extended out of the core before hoisting himself up out from the core behind the AC's head. (AN: I learned that the back of the AC extends out to allow the pilot to enter and exit the core from behind the head.) He then moved himself to the console, jumping down his core to ensure he doesn't hurt himself before reaching it. "Cover me, I'm hacking in," he said on his portable comm. device as he started his work on the computer. He plowed through various data segments, smirking as he got the Intel.

Linda looked back at him, her core having turned slightly to let her Rachis head see him. Her laser rifle, Crest's answer to Mirage's Karasawa rifle, was pointing down the hall to fire on any enemy unit that approaches, as Kaiser's weapons pointed in the same direction. "Find anything yet?" she asked, checking her displays to make sure the coast was clear.

"I found enough already to help the teams," Ed replied, changing his frequency to contact the others, then hooked his AC's secondary terminal cables to the terminal itself. "Demon to teams, we've got the data. Transmitting now!"

Mist looked at the displays as the information was sent out, checking out what he found. "Schematics for the Drones, weapon emplacements, weapon storage, facility maps…" He let out a low whistle. "I'm impressed."

Eddy suddenly frowned. "Don't be," he said. "There's some more data here, saying that there are several other units. Two of them are down in the lowest level, but I can't find out what the thing is saying. There's another one up here." He hit the console. "Damn, the data's encrypted! This'll take a minute."

"Pray you have one," Linda warned, her AC turning back towards their escape route. There weren't any enemies on radar or in sight, but she wasn't going to let herself get caught off guard. A high ranker never lets their guard down.

Eddy's fingers danced over the console as he decrypted the data that was stored on the console. He was surprised the enemy didn't approach them yet. He smiled after a few minutes of working, the sounds of explosions below being muffled. "Alright, I got it!" he said, checking the data. His smirk disappeared nearly as quickly as it appeared, for he saw some information he didn't like the looks of. "Oh shit!"

"What happened?" Mist asked, looking at Ed for a moment.

"That data… it was an access encryption! I'm trying to restore it!"

"Access to what?" Linda asked.

…………

Two drones stood their ground in front of a door. Twin ceiling mounted defense turrets were active and guarding the smooth hallway from whoever was foolish enough to head that way. They were completely automated for guard duty, but nothing would prepare these AI units for what was to come.

The door they guarded was locked, as indicated by the red lights on the doors. However, the machines looked at the door once the lights shifted from red to green. Behind those doors, the room within was pitch black. It lightened up a bit with the green light weakly glowing on the inside part of the door. An AC stood in that darkness, its power disabled thanks to the specialized restraints placed on it. That didn't last long, for Ed's decrypting of the data not only unlocked the door, it also disabled the power restraints. The AC gave a soft hum as it started to power up, its fingers flexing as it identified its existing weapon systems. It stood on two legs, both of which were sleek and sturdy, although mildly rusty with age. Its core was boxy in appearance, and it has a part resembling a gun barrel fused into a ball, which was based on the top, front, and center of the boxy core. Its arms were standard, although the triangular pyramid appearance for shoulders was nothing like what current AC models used. These arms and core were as rusty as the legs, but they were armed. The left hand had a gap above the left hand, where a laser blade was hidden within the arm. The right hand had a small pulse rifle that resembled a standard pistol, although it is far smaller than the ones available. On its back were a large folding grenade launcher and a missile launcher system. The AC was rounded off with an oval shaped sphere for a head, with a blue visor visible from the front center of the machine that extended halfway across the head. The machine was red and black, with a large black circle painted on the left shoulder. In the center of that circle was a large yellow nine painted in the middle. The blue visor of the machine glowed to life as the AC once known as Nineball awoke from its slumber, one thought playing across the old customized AI system installed.

"Destroy," it murmured in the voice of Hustler One, the ultimate Raven pilot. The AC took a step forward before it detected the defense system and the MT Drones outside of the door. It armed its weapon system as it knelt down on one knee as its cannon unfolded, its left arm supporting the barrel. The instant that door was opened by Nineball, the machines did what they were programmed to do. They retaliated. It was over in ten seconds, with the turrets and MT's wasted by the AC as it boosted through the halls, its scanners seeking something else to destroy.

………..

Ed slammed his hands on the console, swearing loudly. "Dammit!" he yelled, pulling the cords out of the console as they zipped back into his AC. "We've got to go, now!" he said, moving as fast as he could to get back into his AC.

Linda looked back at him again with her AC. "Why? What happened?"

"I'll explain as we run," he replied quickly, strapping himself back into his AC cockpit as it slid back into the core. "We just have to get out of here now!" His AC stood back up from its kneeling position, turned as fast as it could, then boosted towards the two AC mechs from his team. They followed suit, engaging their own thrusters to avoid getting rammed by their ally. The three of them boosted around the corner and started moving as fast as they could.

Kaiser's Rachis head looked at the Tie head of Speed Demon. "So why the hell are we running right now?" he asked Ed, irritation noted in his voice.

"That encrypted data was meant to seal something," he replied.

"What do you mean?" Linda asked him, her own AC's Rachis head looking at Speed Demon as well.

"That program I decrypted, it was a lock to a hanger that was sealed for a reason," he replied again. "When I decrypted it, I accidentally unsealed that hanger. I also unsealed the AC that was stored in there."

Linda nearly stopped, but Kaiser's moving bulk was reason enough to keep moving. "What AC?" she asked as she rounded another corner. Quick Death V barely moved in time as a grenade slammed into the wall she was next to for only a moment. Kaiser and Speed Demon rounded the same corner and saw it. The red and black AC with the one emblem that was retired from the Nest, and it was kneeling on one knee with a smoking launcher.

"IT'S NINEBALL!" Eddy yelled over the comm., boosting his AC backwards to avoid turning his back on the AC. Kaiser and Quick Death backed up as well, their weapons locked onto the AC. Their computers couldn't identify the target as being the real Nineball, for their systems weren't augmented to include parts from nearly a century ago. "WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Destroy!" the voice said over their comms. The AC had suffered from recoil from firing such a powerful shot from the launcher, but it recovered as it fired again at the trio.

………….

Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. I had a horrible share of trouble and problems since the thirteenth chapter, which was posted exactly one year after this story started. Problems included floppy disk trouble, college classes, Christmas, thanksgiving, and my old computer finally crashing after ten dedicated years of service. I am hoping my new laptop can fill the old Compaq Presario's shoes. I should now finish this series in a few chapters with my new computer now working.

I would now like to thank all who have read this story so far, and I hope that those that did stay with me from the beginning stay with me until the end.


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